MASTER  NEGATIVE 

NO.  93-81546-12 


MICROFILMED  1993 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES/NEW  YORK 


as  part  of  the  ^:„^*» 

"Foundations  of  Western  Civilization  Preservation  Project 


Funded  by  the   ^  _  ^  „ ,, , . ,- ttttcc 
NATIONAL  ENDOWMENT  FOR  THE  HUMANITIES 

Reproductions  may  not  be  made  without  permission  from 
^  Columbia  University  Library 


COPYRIGHT  STATEMENT 

The  coDvright  law  of  the  United  States  ■  Title  17,  United 
States  Codi-  concerns  the  making  of  photocopies  or 
other  reproductions  of  copyrighted  material. 

Under  certain  conditions  specified  In  the  law,  libraries  and 

Ses  are  authorized  to  ^^'^'^^^.^  S^J^'^^SFJn!^^^^^^ 
reoroduction.  One  of  these  specified  conditions  's  that  tne 
Sotocopy  or  other  reproduction  is  not  to  be  "used  for  any 
gS?pose  other  than  private  study,  scholarship,  or 
research."  If  a  user  makes  a  request  for,  pr  later  uses,  a 
photocopy  or  reproduction  for  Purposes  m  excess  of    air 
5se,"  that  user  may  be  liable  for  copyright  infringement. 

This  Institution  reserves  the  right  to  refuse  to  accept  a 
Spy  ofder  i?  in  Its  judgement,  fulfillment  of  the  order 
would  Involve  violation  of  the  copyright  law. 


A  UTHOR: 


WILMINGTON,  DEL 


TITLE: 


ALFRED 


PLACE: 


[PHILADELPHIA] 


DA  TE: 


[C1 888] 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 

DIBLIOGR  APHir  MTProform  tapt^ft 


Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  ExisTniiliw]^^;:;;^!^^^ 


3  pi,  234  p.    fr<mt.  (port.)    2.V". 


Master  Ncgnlivc  // 

3L3-SJ5<L4-i2 


Restriclions  on  Use: 


i-  ^^'  ^^*^«*^^^  ^P..  1S07-1887.         I.  iMtle. 


Library  of  Congress 


) 


l-lIOinUi-visfMl 


cr38b2i 


TECHNICAL  MICROFORM  DATA  " 
FILM     SIZE:         S^ 
IMAGE  PLACEMrNffTA"!^^        IIB        ^^^^^^^^^     RATIO:„^iiC_ 


DATE     FILMED-  --^  ex 


CT 


c 


Association  for  Information  and  image  iManagement 

1100  Wayne  Avenue,  Suite  1100 
Silver  Spring,  Maryland  20910 

301/587-8202 


Centimeter 


1 


8 


10       11       12       13       14       15   mm 


milniiliiiiliinliiiilinilimlii 


I  I  I 


^ 


ilmi 


lmiliiiil[iMl|iiil[iiil[iiiliiJ^ 


Inches 


1.0 

1^  III  2.8 
^    |||||3.2 

I.I 

■  63 

[r    3.6 

■  10 

Ul.     u 

1.25 

1.4 

2.5 


2.2 


2.0 


1.8 


1.6 


MPNUPqCTURED  TO  fillM  STRNDRRDS 
BY  APPLIED  IMAGE,  INC. 


■<& 


„:^^^^; 


■•a(if^"i*Wf; 


^i^^^^^ 


nmisii 


V^'^K;  >yV., 


'«Mpi^5iii 


m^mmi^msffj(^^M^^^0^0^W 


^■>mm 


,jp 


^^- 


"'.j| '^-■'.■vl"'tf- ^J-j^   '  ' 


■^#^3 


^lie^il 


'!5-|:-i&Si;^' 


.*-'  ■ 


^i^m' 


I 


PHOTO  BY  QARREIT,  WILMINOTON.  DEL. 


PHOrOTVPC  BY  OUTCKUMST.  PHILAOeLPHIA. 


y    « 


PHOTO  BY  OARRE1T.  WILMINGTON.  DEL. 


HHOTOTYPE  BV  QUTEKUNST,  PHILADELPHIA. 


ALFRED  LEE 


Septemtieir  0t(|  1607 
^tlt  t2tf|  1607 


<li:||iri$t0  et  JEctlesio^ 


•  •  • 


•  • 


:    :  • 

•  •  •  » t 


•  • 


•  ••• 

•  •  • 

•  •  •• 


.*.•..• 


•  * 


t 
•  It 


•  It 


*  1 

•    4  I 

»        »  I 

>    >     >  t 

•              I  I 


•  t 
(  • 
*    »    $ 

•  • 

>   >    I     •  i 

•  •       I 
I  I    > 

•  » 

•  I 


t       » 
I    > 


t^i^CUp 


4  7S^  c  c 


COPYRIGHT,  1888. 


Press  of 

JAS,  B.  RODGERS  Printing  Company, 

54  N.  Sixth  St.,  Phila. 


•  •  •• *  • 

*<  •  ;  •  • 

«  «  t  »• •  • 

» • «  •  •   •  • 


•  • 


r  • 


•  •  • 


•  •         •       •    ••  - .  • 

•         •••••••• 


.•  •     •  •    •     • 

•  •       •  •       • 

•  •.    •  •  • 


•      •     i 


•    •    • 


•    • 


•  •  •         •     • 

•  ••••• 

,      •  •  •    •    •     • 

•  •  •  ••      •     • 

•  •  •          • 

•  .     .  . 

•      e    •  • 

•••    •  • •  • 


*  • 


511)13  Jjolume  Ijos  been  tompikir 
for  tl)e  Congreflation  of  St.  2lnbreu)*0  (Eljurrf), 

JtDUmington, 

bg  a  (Eommittee  of  tl)c  Destrg, 

in  loDiug  memorg  of  tijeir  Rector,  tlje  first 

I3iBl)0)}  of  iDelaruare. 


/ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


-1 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH'. 


1 1 


I 


1 


THE  Right  Reverend  Alfred  Lee  came  of  staunch 
English  stock.  His  father  was  a  midshipman 
in  the  British  navy.  In  the  same  fleet  were  the 
Duke  of  Clarence  (afterwards  William  IV.)  and  Lord 
Nefson.  Leaving  the  service  early,  he  came  to 
America,  where  he  exhibited  the  same  energy  and 
resolution  which,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  he  believed 
would  have  wrought  out  a  distinguished  career,  had 
he  remained  in  the  service.^ 


1  This  biographical  sketch,  from  the  Wilmington  Every  Even- 
ing of  April  13,  1887,  being  the  fullest  published  at  tlie  time, 
and  containing  the  substance  of  all  others,  is  here  republished,  in 
accordance  with  the  wish  of  the  Bishop's  family  and  many  friends. 
Some  slight  errors  having  naturally  crept  into  the  text,  as  origi- 
nally published,  it  has  been  edited  and  annotated  by  George  H. 
Bates,  Esq.,  of  Wilmington. 

*  In  the  great  naval  battle  between  Admiral  Rodney  and  Count 
de  Grasse,  near  the  island  of  Guadaloupe,  April,  1782,  when  but 
seventeen  years  old,  he  commanded  a  battery. 

The  following  romantic  account  of  the  occasion  of  his  retirement 
from  the  service  is  from  Crt>ly's  Life  of  George  IV.,  Appendix, 
in  a  letter  written  by  a  midshipman  at  Port  Royal,  April,  1783 : 

"The  last  time  Lord  Hood's  fleet  was  here,  a  court-martial  was 
held  on  Mr.  Benjamin  Lee,  midshipman,  for  disrespect  to  a  supe- 
rior officer,  at  which  Lord  Hood  sat  as  President     The  determina- 


.i 


II 


2  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Bishop  Lee  was  born  in  one  of  the  old  historic 
houses  of  the  country.  It  stands  on  the  corner  of 
Sparks  and  Brattle  Streets,  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  and 
was  one  of  seven  old  Tory  mansions,  famous  once 
for  courtly  hospitality.  In  this  one,  the  celebrated 
Baroness  von  Riedesel  shared  her  husband's  captivity 
in  1778.  There,  venturing  upon  a  celebration  of  his 
birthday,  conjointly  with  that  of  King  George,  which 


tion  of  the  court  was  fatal  to  the  prisoner,  and  he  was  condemned 
to  death.  Deeply  affected  as  the  whole  body  of  midshipmen  were 
at  the  dreadful  sentence,  they  knew  not  how  to  obtain  a  mitiga- 
tion  of  it,  since  Mr.  Lee  was  ordered  for  execution,  while  they 
had  not  time  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  Admiralty,  and  despaired 
of  a  petition  to  Admiral  Rowley.  However,  His  Royal  Highness 
(afterwards  William  IV.)  generously  stepped  forth,  drew  up  a  peti- 
tion, to  which  he  was  the  first  to  set  his  name,  and  solicited  the 
rest  of  the  midshipmen  in  port  to  follow  his  example.  He  then 
himself  carried  the  petition  to  Admiral  Rowley,  and,  in  the  most 
pressing  and  urgent  manner,  begged  the  life  of  an  unhappy 
brother,  in  which  he  succeeded,  and  Mr.  Lee  was  reprieved." 

He  judged  it  prudent,  however,  to  retire  from  the  navy,  and 
joined  his  elder  brother  Thomas  in  Boston,  who  put  him  in  com- 
mand of  a  merchantman,  and  for  the  next  thirteen  years  he  traded 
to  distant  ports,  meeting  with  more  or  less  of  adventure  and  hard- 
ship. When  the  frigate  Constitution  was  fitted  out  he  was  ten- 
dered a  commission  as  her  First  Lieutenant,  but,  although  a 
naturalized  American,  he  was  unwilling  to  be  placed  in  a  situa- 
tion which  might  require  him  to  fight  against  England.  Among 
his  intimate  friends  were  Vice-President  Elbridge  Gerry  and  the 
Rev.  Abiel  Holmes,  father  of  the  author. 

The  Bishop's  paternal  grandmother  was  Mary  Pitt,  one  of  the 
family  which  gave  two  eminent  statesmen  to  Cxreat  Britain.  She 
was  an  attached  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  though  her 
husband  was  a  Dissenter.    The  Bishop's  mother,  Elizabeth  Leigh- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  ^ 

fell  the  next  day,  so  that  festivities  could  easily  be 
stretched  over,  she  came  near  being  mobbed.  This 
house,  afterwards  immortalized  by  Longfellow  in  **The 
Old  House  by  the  Lindens,''  was  given  to  Mr. 
Thomas  Lee,  the  uncle  of  the  Bishop,  in  compensa- 
tion for  ships  which  had  been  taken  for  military  uses. 
Here  Bishop  Lee  was  born  on  the  9th  of  September, 
1807.3 

Twenty  years  later  he  was  graduated  from  Harvard 

University.* 


ton,  was  of  a  Massachusetts  family,  and  -was  a  woman  of  great 
force  of  character.  She  died  only  a  few  years  ago,  having  lived 
to  a  very  advanced  age. 

"The  Bishop's  affectionate  remembrance  of  his  birth-place  is 
shown  by  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  since  his 
death  by  a  lady,  once  a  member  of  his  parish,  now  residing  in 
Cambridge,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.  She  thus  alludes  to 
a  visit  to  his  old  home  with  him  not  long  before  his  death: — 
'*  I  so  enjoyed  seeing  the  pleasure  it  gave  him  to  go  over  his 
old  home,  and  when  he  found  in  the  attic  the  paper  unchanged, 
and  other  things  he  remembered  there,  he  was  as  pleased  as  a 
child,  and  I  saw  then  how  much  he  could  feel  and  express  in 
his  sweet,  calm  way." 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  house  was  finally  removed  a 
short  time  prior  to  the  Bishop's  death.  They  went  almost  together, 
but  happily  he  never  knew  that  the  house  he  loved  had  gone. 

*  Among  the  Bishop's  classmates  were  Professor  Epes  Sargent 
Dixwell,  so  long  principal  of  the  Boston  Latin  School,  Mr.  Ed- 
mund Quincy,  and  Presidents  Felton  of  Harvard  and  Steams  of 
Amherst.  His  membership  in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  shows 
him  to  have  been  among  the  first  eight  of  the  class.  That  he  was 
proficient  in  Mathematics  is  indicated  by  his  selection,  according  to 
a  custom  of  the  students  long  obsolete,  as  the  holder  of  the  "big 


r 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

4 

Like  many  cogent  and  successful  preacliers,  he 
served  first  an  apprenticeship  at  the  law,  practising 
that  profession  for  two  years  in  New  London,  Conn. 

MINISTERIAL  CAREER. 

-  Resolving  upon  a  change  of  profession,  he  entered 
the  General  Theological  Seminary  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1837,  just  before 
completing  his  thirtieth  year. 

He  was  ordered  Deacon  in  Christ  (now  Trinity)  Church,^ 
Norwich,  Conn.,  by  Bishop  Brownell,  on  May  21st,  iSs;.*^ 


slate  "  which  he  in  turn  presented  to  Benjamin  Pierce,  destined  to 
achieve  future  renown  as  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  Univer- 
sity.    The  Bishop  was  also  a  member  of  the  Hasty  Pudding  Club. 

His  residence  was  too  far  distant  from  Cambridge  to  permit  his 
frequent  attendance  at  Commencement  or  the  Class  Reunions,  but 
he  ever  cherished  a  strong  and  affectionate  interest  in  his  Alma 
Mater  and  college  friends.  He  attended,  however,  the  Semi-Cen- 
tennial  Reunion  of  his  class  in  1877,  and  was  much  gratified  at 
being  called  on  to  speak  for  his  class  at  the  Alumni  dmner. 

•  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  four  members  of  the  House  of  Bishops 
at   the   last    General    Convention    had    been    members    of    Chnst 
Church.  Norwich,-the  Bishop  of  Delaware,  presiding  Bishop,  the 
Bishops  of  Kansas  and  Massachusetts,  and  the  missionary  Bishop 
of  Washington  Territory.    The  last  two  were  sons  of  the  Reverend 
Seth  B.  Paddock,  who  was  the  Rector  when  Bishop  Lee  was  ordamed. 
Bishop  Lee's  first  sermon  was  preached  on  the  evening  of  the 
Sunday  on  which   he  received   Deacon's   orders,   from   Habakkuk 
iii    17    18.    -Although  the  fig-tree  shaU  not  blossom,  neither  shaU 
"fruit  be  in  the  vines;  the  labour  of  the  olive  shaU  fail,  and  the 
"fields  shall  yield  no  meat;  the  flock  shaU  be  cut  off  from  the 
«'  fold   and  there  shaU  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls : 

"Yet  I  wiU  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my 

"  salvation." 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  5 

On  June  12th  of  the  following  year  he  was  ordained 
Priest  in  Christ  Church,  Hartford,  Conn.,  by  the  same 
prelate.  The  initiation  of  Bishop  Lee's  long  ministry 
was  at  a  rural  church  in  Connecticut,  that  of  St. 
James,  Poquetanuck.  This,  however,  was  casual  and 
temporary.  His  first  services  as  a  Rector  were  given 
to  Calvary  Church,  Rockdale,  Pa.,  where  he  was  in- 
stituted in  September,  1838.^ 


«  Since  the  death  of  Bishop  Lee  his  friends  have  been  permitted 
to  read  a  letter  of  the  late  Richard  S.  Smith  containing  a  detailed 
account  of  his  ministry  at  Rockdale,  which  was  communicated  to 
the  late  Bishop  Smith,  and  by  him  sent  to  the  son-in-law  of  Bishop 
Lee.  to  be  preserved  for  use  only  after  the  writer  and  Bishop  Lee 
should  be  no  longer  among  the  living.  The  letter  of  Mr.  Smith, 
as  well  as  those  of  Bishop  Smith  referring  to  it,  are  of  so  much 
interest  that  they  are  introduced  here  in  full, — 

HOBOKEN,  Aug.  22d,  1875. 
Rev.  C.  E.  McIi^vaine: 

Son  of  My  Dear  /^rzVw^,— When  I  was  in  Philadelphia  on  the 
occasion  of  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Hare,  I  w^as  the  guest  of 
Mr.  Coffin,  in  Clinton  Street,  opposite  to  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Richard  Smith,  an  old  friend  of  mine,  stiU  older  than  myself, 
whom  I  had  known  and  honored  long  years  before,  who,  from 
time  to  time,  would  step  over  and  have  long  talks  with  me  about 
old  times,  in  one  of  which  he  gave  me,  somewhat  in  detail,  the 
narrative  to  which  the  enclosed  refers.  It  was  drawn  from  him 
by  a  remark  that  I  could  hardly  account  for  the  fact  that  your 
honored  Father-in-law,  and  my  dear  Friend,  Bishop  Lee,  had  been 
warmly  commended  by  Bishop  H.  U.  Onderdonk  to  the  Conven- 
tion of  Delaware  for  the  high  office  which  he  has  so  long  filled 
with  such  credit  to  himself  and  such  vast  benefits  to  the  Church. 

I  went  to  Philadelphia  shortly  after  Bishop  Onderdonk  became 
Assistant  to  Bishop  White,  and  tho'  he  was  an  extra  High  Church- 
man, I  was  delighted  to  hear  that  he  had  given  out  this,  as  his 


.„  ..  -  ^ ,. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


He  had  now  left  New  England,  as  a  residence,  for- 
ever.  Henceforth  interests,  associations  and  work  lay 
alike,  widi  the  residue  of  his  life,  in  the  Middle  States. 


maxim  of  administration,  "Tlio'  an  High  Churchman  myself,  I  go 
for  the  Church-fiUers,  and  against  the  Church-emptiers."  This 
accounts  for  his  action  as  above. 

It  was  more  than  thirty  years  after  these  events,  being  in  Phila- 
delphia again  six  weeks  ago,  I  left  a  note  for  Mr.  Smith,  asking 
him  to  commit  to  writing  what  he  had  remarked  to  me  a  few 
years  before ;   that  is  the  narrative  to  which  the  enclosed  refers. 

You  will  observe  that  I  drew  it  from  him  only  upon  the  condi- 
tion that  it  should  be  placed  in  proper  hands,  under  a  promise 
that  no  part  of  it  should  be  made  public  during  Bishop  Lee's  life. 
It  is  an  item  of  history  too  honorable  to  all  the  parties  concerned 

ever  to  be  lost, 

And  it  is  now  offered  to  you,  as,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  the 

most  fit  person  to  be  entrusted  with  it. 

Upon  the  assurance  that  you  accept  the  trust,  upon  the  above 
conditions,  the  MSS.  will  at  once  be  transmitted  to  you  by 

Your  Father's  Friend  and  Yours, 

B.  B.  Smith. 

Sept  4th,  1875. 
Rev.  C.  E.  McIIvVaine: 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir,—1  leave  it  entirely  to  your  discretion 
whether  the  enclosed  is  retained  by  you  or  handed  to  your  brother- 
in-law. 

The  limit  of  the  caution  given  by  Mr.  Richard  Smith  to  me, 
and  by  me  to  you.  was  this :  Save  Mr.  Smith's  and  Bishop  Lee's 
feelings,  during  their  lifetime.  It  is  of  course  open  to  members 
of  his  family,  and  other  friends   under  the  same  caution. 

Very  truly  yours,  &c. 

B.  B.  Smith. 

Phu^adelphia,  August  i8th,  1875. 

Right  Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:^ 

At  your  request  I  repeat  to  you  the  substance  of  the  statement 


ELECTION  TO  THE  EPISCOPATE. 

It  is  as  a  Bishop  that  the  world  at  large  knows, 
and   that  the  Church  of  Christ  chiefly  honors  Alfred 

I  made  to  you  when  we  met  at  the  house  of  my  neighbor,  Mr. 
Coffin,  in  relation  to  Bishop  Lee's  early  connection  with  Calvary 
Church,  Rockdale,  Delaware  County,  Penna.,  which,  being  on  the 
borders  of  the  State  of  Delaware,  eventually  led  to  his  nomina- 
tion as  Bishop  of  that  Diocese.  In  the  year  1833  my  family  re- 
moved to  a  property  which  came  into  my  possession  at  Rockdale, 
and  the  nearest  Episcopal  church  being  at  Concord,  five  miles 
distant,  we,  when  the  weather  permitted,  rode  over  there.  Being 
frequently  prevented  by  the  weather,  we  were  many  Sundays  de- 
prived of  usual  public  worship,  and  my  wife  and  daughter,  having 
been  previously  connected  with  the  Sunday-school  at  St.  Peter's, 
Philadelphia,  proposed  to  me  to  open  a  Sunday-school  in  the 
vacant  room  of  a  factory  building  on  my  property.  This  was  com- 
menced with  an  attendance  of  twenty  children,  which  soon  in- 
creased to  one  hundred.  In  about  a  year  after  this  I  succeeded 
in  obtaining  a  number  of  benches  which  were  sold  at  auction, 
which  were  well  adapted  to  seat  a  congregation  in  such  a  building 
as  we  then  occupied— and  as  we  occasionally  obtained  services  by 
the  clergy  from  the  city,  and  neighboring  churches  of  Chester  and 
Marcus  Hook,  we  soon  drew  good  congregations  until  1835,  when 
we  organized  the  church  under  the  title  of  Calvary  Church  (named 
by  Bishop  Onderdonk),  and  were  admitted  into  convention.  For 
some  months  we  had  the  services  of  Mr.  Kingston  Goddard  as 
lay  reader,  he  being  a  divinity  student;  subsequently  the  society 
for  the  advancement  of  Christianity  in  Pennsylvania,  appointed  the 
Rev.  Marmaduke  Hurst  as  missionary.  In  1836,  by  great  exertions 
and  through  the  liberality  of  friends  in  Philadelphia,  we  obtained 
a  sufficient  sum  to  warrant  the  commencement  of  a  church  build- 
ing, and  on  17th  August,  1836,  Bishop  Onderdonk  laid  the  comer- 
stone.  The  building  was  so  far  constructed  that  in  the  month  of 
December  it  was  roofed,  and  the  basement  room  plastered  and 


«! 


8 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


BIOGRAPHICAI,  SKETCH. 


Lee,  however  dear  to  Wilmingtonians  will  always  be 
the  venerable  and  beloved  Rector  of  St.  Andrew's. 
Prior  to   1841,   the  Diocese  of  Delaware  had  been 


furnished  for  Sunday-school  and  Church  service  until  the  building 
would  be  finished,  and  the  first  service  was  held  in  the  basement, 
the  Rev.  Richard  Hall,  of  Chester,  officiating  on  Christmas  Eve, 
1836.  Immediately  after  this  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hurst  commenced  his 
service  as  missionary,  and  continued  until  the  year  1838.  Wor- 
shipping in  the  basement,  and  there  being  no  pew-rents,  the 
amount  of  contributions,  in  addition  to  the  missionary's  salary, 
was  small,  the  worshippers  being  chiefly  operatives  in  the  fac- 
tories, nevertheless  the  Sunday-school,  under  the  superintendence 
of  Mrs.  Smith  and  daughter,  was  well  attended  and  productive 
of  much  good.  In  the  summer  of  1838,  Rev.  Dr.  Clemson,  Rector 
of  the  church  at  Chester,  called  at  my  house  and  inquired  if  we 
proposed  to  elect  a  Rector  for  our  church.  I  told  him  until  we 
could  obtain  means  to  finish  the  building  and  collect  pew-rents, 
we  had  not  means  to  pay  the  salary  of  a  Rector.  I  enquired 
what  led  to  his  interest  in  the  matter;  he  said  that  in  travelling 
lately  from  the  South  on  board  steamboat,  he  had  met  with  a 
gentleman  lately  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  our  church  return- 
ing from  the  South  where  he  had  been  for  the  improvement  of 
his  health,  and  that  he  was  desirous  of  obtaining  a  parish  in  one 
of  the  Middle  States  as  more  suited  to  his  health;  Mr.  Clemson 
expressed  his  great  pleasure  in  making  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
Lee,  and  an  earnest  wish  that  he  might  be  secured  for  a  church 
in  our  neighborhood.  I  regretted  that  in  our  present  condition 
I  could  not  encourage  him  to  expect  a  call  from  our  church. 
Shortly  after  this  Mr.  Hurst  resigned  as  missionary,  and  it  then 
occurred  to  me  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lee,  named  by  Dr.  Clemson, 
might  possibly  be  reached,  and  by  authority  of  the  vestn^  I  wrote 
to  him,  and  requested  his  consideration  of  a  call  to  our  parish. 
He  replied  that  there  would  be  a  meeting  of  the  General  Con- 
vention in  Philadelphia  in  a  few  weeks,  when  he  would  call  on 
me.    In  October,  1838,  Mr.  Lee  called  on  me,  and  I  invited  him 


under  the  ecclesiastical  charge  of  the  Bishop  of 
Pennsylvania,  but  at  the  Convention  in  that  year  at 
Georgetown,  it  was  resolved  to  complete  the  separate 

to  stay  at  my  house  in  Rockdale,  where  he  met  Bishop  Hopkins, 
who  always  made  his  home  at  my  house  when  at  Philadelphia. 

Bishop  Hopkins  and  Mr.  Lee  preached  on  two  Sundays,  and  on 
the  evening  of  the  second  Sunday  Mr.  Lee  said  he  had  a  call 
to  Lancaster,  but  he  thought  his  services  were  more  required  at 
Rockdale  than  at  Lancaster.  I  told  him  that  until  our  church 
was  finished  and  furnished  with  pews,  our  income  was  very  limited 
and  his  salary  would  be  in  proportion. 

He  said  any  salary  that  could  be  afibrded  he  would  be  content 
to  take,  but  it  was  requisite  that  he  should  obtain  a  comfortable 
house  for  his  family.  I  told  him  such  a  house  could  not  be 
obtained  within  five  miles,  but  if  he  would  live  in  my  house  with 
my  family  we  should  be  most  happy  to  receive  him.  He  said  his 
family  consisted  of  his  wife,  two  children,  and  two  domestics,  and 
he  thought  would  be  too  large  an  addition  to  our  household.  I 
told  him  I  had  ample  room  for  all,  and  he  soon  joined  us,  and 
a  most  happy  family  circle  was  continued  for  three  years.  The 
love  and  affection  then  commenced  have  continued  to  this  hoiir 
without  interruption.  Having  entered  on  the  duties  of  his 
charge,  a  blessing  accompanied  the  labors  of  Mr.  Lee,  and  the 
lecture  or  Sunday-school  room  where  the  services  were  held  was 
soon  crowded  to  excess,  and  it  became  absolutely  necessary  to 
take  measures  for  completing  the  church  edifice,  in  order  that 
more  accommodation  might  be  obtained  for  the  large  and  in- 
creasing congregation. 

In  April,  1839,  therefore,  efforts  were  renewed  to  obtain  means 
to  finish  the  building,  to  which  tlie  Rev.  Mr.  Lee  contributed  the 
whole  amount  of  his  salary  then  due,  and  continued  to  do  so 
for  the  whole  period  he  remained  as  Rector,  amounting  to  near 
I900,  as  also  the  sum  received  by  him  for  services  performed  for 
six  months  at  St  John's  Church,  Concord. 


*J 


lO 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


organization  of  the  Diocese  by  electing  a  bishop. 
The  Rev.  Alfred  Lee  then,  as  before  stated,  the 
Rector    of   Calvary    Church,    Rockdale,    having    been 


With  such  an  example  of  zeal  and  devotion  to  stimulate  us  in 
the  work,  it  was  not  long  before  it  was  completed.    On  the  24th 
day  of  November,    1839,   our  church  was  consecrated  to  the  ser- 
vice of  Almighty  God,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  H.  U.  Onderdonk,  Bishop 
of  the  Diocese.      From  that  period  until  the  Rev.   Mr.   Lee  was 
called   to  a   higher  station,   the  church   continued   thronged  with 
worshippers,   and  many  members  were  added   to  its  communion. 
It  was  a  subject  of   much  regret  that  it  had  not  been   built  of 
larger  dimensions,  and  it  became  necessary  to  place  benches  in 
the  aisles   to  accommodate   those   for  whom   there  was   no   room 
elsewhere,  and  two  members  of  the  vestry  were  placed  in  the  ves- 
tibule  (taking  the  duty  in  succession)   every  Sunday  to  see  that 
visitors  were  provided  with  seats.     As  some  of  the  fruits  of  the 
Rector's  ministry  for  three  years  in  this  new  parish,  he  baptized 
thirty-three  adults  and  fifty-two  children.     One  hundred  and  thirty 
new  members  were  added  as  communicants,  and  one  hundred  con- 
firmed by  the  Bishop  during  the  same  period,  very  many  of  whom 
were   from  the  teachers  and   scholars  of  the   Sunday-school.      In 
this  department  of  labor  also,  great  encouragement  was  given  by 
the    large    increase    in   numbers   and    zeal,    both    in   teachers   and 
scholars.     The  number  of  teachers  had  increased  to  twenty-four, 
and  the  average  attendance  of  children  amounted  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty,  with  the  names  of  three  hundred  on  the  roll.     Having 
thus  far  traced  the  progress  of  Calvary  Church,  we  now  arrive  at 
another  period  in  its  history  which  was  marked  by  an  event  im- 
portant to  the  Church  at  large,  the  announcement  of  which  was 
received    at    Rockdale    with    emotions    of   sadness,    not    unmixed, 
however,  with  gratitude  that  their  beloved  Pastor  was  called  from 
this  little  flock  to  a  heavier  and  morej  important  charge,  having 
been  unanimously  elected  Bishop,  by  the  Convention  of  the  State 
of   Delaware.     At   the  meeting  of  the   Convention,   when   Bishop 
Onderdonk  informed  the  Delegates  that  they  now  represented  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


II 


nominated,  received  the  unanimous  vote  of  both  the 
clerical  and  lay  deputies,  the  two  orders  voting  sepa- 
rately. Of  those  who  voted  for  his  election  but  one 
is  now  living, — Benjamin  Burton,  Esq.,  of  George- 
town. Judge  Wootten,  recently  deceased,  was  also 
one  of  those  present  and  voting.^ 


number  of  churches  and  parishes  which  entitled  to  elect  a  Bishop, 
they  were  surprised,  and  unprepared  to  nominate  a  candidate.  But 
when  Mr.  William  Smith,  a  delegate  from  a  small  congregation 
worshipping  on  the  border  of  Pennsylvania,  and  near  St.  John's 
Church,  Concord,  nominated  Rev.  Mr.  Lee,  of  Calvary  Church, 
Rockdale,  Bishop  Onderdonk  expressed  his  high  opinion  of  Mr. 
Lee,  and  assured  the  delegates  that  no  one  more  highly  qualified 
or  better  adapted  for  the  work  of  Bishop  in  their  Diocese  could  be 
named.  The  election  of  Rev.  Mr.  Lee  was,  thereupon,  unanimous. 
The  peculiar  circumstances  connected  with  the  call  of  Mr.  Lee 
to  our  humble  parish ;  his  supply  of  service  to  St.  John's  Church, 
Concord;  his  meeting  there  with  Mr.  Smith,  who  resided  on  the 
border  of  Delaware,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  Convention  of 
the  Diocese  of  Delaware,  and  there  nominated  Mr.  Lee,  attracted 
some  notice  and  were  called,  by  some,  curious  and  fortunate  acci- 
dents. But  now  the  hand  of  Providence  was  recognized  in  thus 
bringing  to  our  humble  parish,  on  the  border  of  the  State  of  Dela- 
ware, one  so  highly  qualified  for  the  high  station  to  which  he 
was  called,  and  who,  but  for  that  proximity,  might  have  been  over- 
looked. In  the  conviction  that  the  great  Head  of  the  Church 
had  a  higher  work  for  him  to  perform,  pastor  and  people  parted 
with  mutual  testimonials  of  esteem  and  affection,  thanking  the 
Lord  that  his  field  of  labor  was  not  so  far  removed  but  that  they 
might  frequently  receive  his  visits  as  a  friend,  and  a  Chief  Minister 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  still  interested  in  the  good  of  the  sor.ls 

for  whom  he  had  here  labored. 

Richard  S.  Smith. 

^  In  view  of  the  fact  that  very  few  copies  of  the  Journal  of  the 


12 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


The  election,  having  taken  place  within  six  months 
of  the  session  of  the  General  Convention,  required 
confirmation  by  that  body,  and  accordingly,  on  the 
8th  of  October,  the  House  of  Deputies  signed  the 
testimonials  of  the  Bishop-elect,  and  on  the  same  day 
the  House  of  Bishops  consented  to  his  consecration. 


Convention  of   1841   are  now  accessible,   a  list  of  the  signatures 
to  Bishop  I^ee's  testimonials  is  here  reprinted: 

H.  U   Onderdonk,  President  of  Convention. 

S.  W.  Presstman,  Rector  of  Immanuel  Church,  New  Castle. 

John  P.  Bausman,  Rector  of  St.  Ann's  Church,  Middletown, 
and  St.  Peter's,  Smyrna. 

John  W.  McCuli^ough,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Wilmington. 

CoRRY  Chambers,  Rector  of  St.  James'  Church,  Stanton. 

W1LI.IAM  H.  Trapnei.1.,  Rector  of  St  Andrew's  Church,  Wil- 
mington. 

John  Reynolds,  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Milford. 

Samuel  G.  Callahan,  Minister  of  Christ  Church,  Laurel. 

WM.  Smith,  -i   ^^^^^  church,  Brandywine. 

Jeremiah  S.  Deleplain,  J 

Aquila  Pritchard, 

James  F.  Wilson, 

Nehemiah  Stockley, 

William  Cummins, 

M.  Bradford,  Trinity  Church,  Wilmington. 

Joshua  Burton, 


\  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Wilmington. 
I  St  Peter's  Church,  Smyrna. 


William  B.  Burton, 
Charles  Wright, 
Major  W.  Allen, 
C.  S.  Layton, 
John  R.  Draper, 
Wm.  D.  Waples, 
Benjamin  Burton, 


\  St.  George's  Chapel,  Indian  River. 
I  St  Luke's  Church,  Seaford. 
\  Christ  Church,  Milford. 
\  Prince  George's  Church,  Dagsboro'. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


13 


He  was  consecrated  first  Bishop  of  Delaware  in 
St  Paul's  Church,  New  York,  on  the  12th  day  of 
October,  1841,  at  the  age  of  thirty-four,  under  which 
a  man  rarely  reaches  the  episcopate.  His  consecrators 
were  Bishops  Griswold,  Moore,  Chase,  Brownell,  H. 
U.  Onderdonk,  Meade  and  Mcllvaine.^ 


Thomas  Davis, 
Sai^athiei,  Baker, 
Samuei*  Paynter, 
Robert  Burton, 
Joshua  A.  Ei.wgood, 
Josiah  O'Neai,, 
M.  Reuch, 
Edward  Wootten, 


I  St.  Matthew's  Church,  Cedar  Creek. 
\  St.  Peter's  Church,  Lewestown. 
>  Christ  Church,  Laurel. 
\  St.  Paul's  Church,  Georgetown. 


*The  Journal  of  the  House  of  Bishops  on  this  occasion  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

**  Tuesday^  October  12th,  10  o'clock^  A.  M, 

"The  House  of  Bishops  met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  in  St. 
"Paul's  Chapel,  for  the  consecration  of  the  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D., 
"to  the  Episcopate  of  Delaware. 

"Present,  the  whole  House. 

"Morning  Prayer  was  read  by  the  Rev.  Stephen  W.  Presstman, 
"of  Delaware,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Croswell,  of  Connecticut, 
**who  read  the  lessons.  The  ante-communion  service  was  read  by 
"Bishop  Onderdonk,  of  Pennsylvania;  the  Epistle  being  read  by 
"  Bishop  Chase,  of  Ohio,  and  the  Gospel  by  Bishop  Moore,  of  Vir- 


4« 


gima. 


"The  sermon  was  preached  by  Bishop  Mcllvaine,  of  Ohio. 

"The  candidate  was  presented  by  Bishop  Meade,  of  Virginia, 
"  and  bishop  Onderdonk,  of  New  York. 

"The  proceedings  of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware,  and  of  the  House 
"of  Bishops,  and  the  House  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies,  were 
"  read  by  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright,  Secretary  of  the  House  of  Bishops, 
"and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mead,  Secretary  of  the  House  of  Clerical  and 


\ 


f 


H 


BIOGRAPHICAI,  SKETCH. 


Of  these,  Bishop  Mcllvaine,  the  last  survivor,  the 
nearest  allied  to  Bishop  Lee,  both  by  family  connec- 
tion and  kinship  in  spirit,  died  at  Florence  in  1873. 
Bishop  Moore,  of  Virginia,  died  a  few  weeks  after  the 
consecration. 

An  interesting  historical  fact  in  connection  with  the 
consecration  of  the  Bishop  was  the  participation  in 
the  service  of  three  of  Bishop  Lee's  predecessors  in 
the  office  of  Presiding  Bishop, — Bishops  Griswold, 
Chase  and  Brownell, — and  the  presence  of  two  others, 
— Bishops  Hopkins  and  Smith, — so  that  this  solemn 
occasion  brought  together  six  of  the  eight  men  who 
have  lived  to  become  the  senior  Bishop.^ 


"Lay  Deputies.  The  Litany  was  read  by  Bishop  BrowneU,  of 
"  Connecticut. 

"The  questions  were  propounded  to  the  candidate  by  Bishop 
"  Griswold,  of  the  Eastern  Diocese,  the  presiding  Bishop,  who  con- 
"secrated  the  Bishop  elect;  Bishops  Moore,  Chase,  Brownell  and 
"Onderdonk,  of  Pennsylvania,  uniting  in  the  imposition  of  hands. 

*'The  Communion  was  then  administered  by  the  presiding 
"Bishop,  assisted  by  the  other  Bishops  present 

"The  House  then  adjourned." 

The  sermon  preached  by  Bishop  Mcllvaine,  on  this  occasion  was 
from  the  text: — "Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and  unto  the  doctrine; 
"continue  in  them;  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  both  save  thy- 
"self,  and  them  that  hear  thee." — i  Timothy  iv.  16. 

•There  were  present  at  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Lee,  as 
appears  by  the  Journal,  the  entire  House  of  Bishops,  whicli  then 
consisted  of  Bishops  Griswold,  Moore,  Chase,  Brownell,  Onderdonk, 
of  Pennsylvania,  Meade,  Onderdonk,  of  New  York,  Ives,  Hopkins, 
Smith,  Mcllvaine,  Doane,  Otey,  Kemper,  McCoskry,  Polk,  De 
Lancey,  Gadsden,  Whittingham  and  Elliot. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


«s 


IN  THE   HOUSE   OF   BISHOPS. 

On  the  day  following  his  consecration,  Bishop  Lee 
took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Bishops  as  the  young- 
est of  twenty-one  members,  being  the  thirty-eighth 
in  succession  of  American  bishops.  He  first  officiated 
in  the  Diocese,  in  Immanuel  Church,  New  Castle,  Oc- 
tober 24th,  having  visited  all  the  churches  before  ac- 
cepting his  election.  The  spirit  in  which  he  entered 
upon  his  episcopal  labors  is  clearly  shown  by  the  lan- 
guage used  by  him  in  his  first  address  delivered  to 
the  Convention  held  May  25th,  1842,  in  St.  Andrew^s 
Church,  Wilmington  : 

The  action  of  your  last  Convention  placed  him  who  now 
addresses  you  in  a  most  trying  and  difficult  situation.  A 
call  wholly  unexpected  from  a  portion  of  the  church,  to  which 


There  were  also  present  at  the  General  Convention  of  1841, 
eight  clerical  deputies  who  were  aften^\irds  elevated  to  tlie  Epis- 
copate, viz :— Johns,  Henshaw,  Chase  of  New  Hampshire,  Cobbs, 
Burgess  of  Maine,  Upfold,  Whitehouse  and  Bowman. 

Bishop  Lee  participated  in  the  consecration  of  Bishops  White- 
house  and  Bowman.  The  consecration  of  Bishop  Johns  followed 
a  year  and  a  day  after  that  of  Bishop  Lee;  then  that  of  Bishop 
Eastbum  intervened,  after  which  Bishops  Henshaw,  Chase  and 
Cobbs  came  next  in  the  succession,  in  the  order  in  which  they 
are  named. 

Among  the  distinguished  lajinen  present  during  the  session  of 
1841  was  Horace  Einney. 

The  Clerical  Deputies  from  Delaware  were  the  Rev.  Stephen  W. 
Presstman,  the  Rev.  John  Reynolds,  the  Rev.  John  W.  McCul- 
lough  and  the  Rev.  V/illiam  H.  Trapnell.  The  only  Lay  Deputy 
from  Delaware  in  attendance  was  Mr.  Samuel  Paynter. 


;1I 


$ 


it   I 


i6 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


he  was  personally  a  stranger,  imposed  upon  him  the  neces- 
sity of  deciding  one  of  the  most  serious  and  important  ques- 
tions which  can  be  presented  to  the  mind  of  a  minister  of 
Christ.  Before  venturing  to  determine  it,  it  seemed  incum- 
bent on  me  to  visit  my  brethren  who  had  honored  me  with 
such  a  mark  of  their  confidence,  and  acquaint  myself  with 
the  condition  and  circumstances  of  the  Church  over  which  I 
was  invited  to  preside.  That  I  found  most  of  the  churches 
in  an  exceedingly  feeble  and  depressed  condition  I  need  not 
inform  you.  I  surely  saw  much  to  discourage,  in  the  field  of 
labor  proposed.  But  the  result  of  my  observation  was  to  im- 
press very  deeply  on  my  mind  the  wisdom  and  necessity  of 
the  step  which  the  Convention  had  taken  in  the  election  of  a 
Bishop ;  although  I  could  not  but  regret  that  their  choice  had 
not  fallen  upon  one  more  experienced  and  better  qualified. 
In  no  other  course  did  there  appear,  to  human  eye,  any  pros- 
pect for  the  Church  in  the  two  lower  counties  but  gradual 
decay  and  not  very  distant  extinction.  Had  there  been  a  single 
dissenting  voice  in  my  election  I  should  have  felt  myself  at 
liberty,  although  grateful  for  the  preference  manifested,  to 
have  declined  the  unexpected  call.  But  the  unanimity  of  the 
election  invested  it  with  a  ten-fold  weight,  and  I  shrank  from 
the  responsibility  of  declining  a  burden  which  the  hand  of 
Providence  appeared  to  lay  upon  me. 

It  was  indeed  a  feeble  Diocese  over  which  the  Bishop 
was  called  to  preside.  On  his  first  visitation  he  found 
but  four  clergymen  in  the  active  work  of  the  ministry, 
of  whom  but  one  was  below  New  Castle,  and  only 
seven  parishes  supplied  with  regular  services.  The 
number  of  communicants  in  1841  was  three  hundred 
and  thirty-nine. 

At  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1881,  in  an  histor- 
ical sermon  reviewing  his  episcopate,  then  of  forty 
years,  Bishop  Lee  stated  that  there  had  been  twenty- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


17 


four  churches  built,  of  which  all  but  one  had  been 
consecrated ;  one  left  incomplete  had  been  finished, 
two  old  churches  virtually  abandoned  had  been  reoc- 
cupied  and  eight  enlarged.  He  had  confirmed  4327 
persons,  and  the  baptisms  reported  were  10,082.  In 
the  last  annual  address  made  to  the  Convention  of 
1886  the  Bishop  reported  the  confirmation  of  162 
persons,  or  very  nearly  one-half  the  whole  number 
of  communicants  which  he  found  when  he  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  in  1841. 

At  the  same  Convention  of  1886,  it  being  the  year 
for  a  Charge  to  the  Clergy,  which,  under  the  Canon, 
the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  delivers  every  third  year, 
unless  prevented  by  reasonable  cause.  Bishop  Lee 
took  for  his  subject  '*Our  Centenary.*'  It  being  as- 
certained that  the  first  Diocesan  Convention  had  been 
held  in  1786,  instead  of  in  1791,  as  up  to  that  time 
had  been  supposed,  the  Charge  was  devoted  to  a 
most  interesting  review  of  the  Church  in  Delaware 
in  its  relation  to  the  early  sessions  of  the  General 
Convention.  Then,  after  an  acknowledgment  of  past 
mercies  and  an  earnest  appeal  for  caution  in  adopting 
changes  in  the  future,  the  Bishop  concluded  with 
these  impressive  words : 


i 


In  closing  what,  in  all  probability,  will  be  my  last  official 
utterance  of  this  kind,  I  desire  to  respond  earnestly  to  all 
the  manifestations  of  love  and  confidence  which  I  have  re- 
ceived from  my  brethren  of  the  Clergy  as  well  as  from  the 
Laity  of  this  Diocese.  The  Lord  reward  them  as  I  cannot. 
And  to  you,  dear  brethren,  who  watch  for  souls,  in  the  words 
of  the  Apostle,  let  me  further  say,  "I  charge  you  before  God 


i 


11 


\ 


^ 


•   ! 


{ 


:yi 


11 


i8 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


and  the  I^ord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead  at  His  appearing  and  His  kingdom ;  preach  the  word ; 
be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season ;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort, 
with  all  long-suffering  and  doctrine.'*  "Now  the  God  of 
peace,  who  brought  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that 
great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  ever- 
lasting covenant,  make  you  perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do 
His  will,  working  in  you  that  which  is  pleasing  in  His  sight, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  glory  and  dominion  forever. 
Amen." 

PRESIDING  BISHOP. 

One  by  one  the  Bishop's  seniors  passed  away  until 
he  stood  next  in  succession  to  the  late  Bishop  Smith, 
who,  since  1868,  had  been  the  Presiding  Bishop,  and 
on  the  death  of  that  venerable  prelate,  on  May  31st, 
1884,  Bishop  Lee  succeeded  him.  Not  only  was  he 
the  senior  Bishop  of  his  own  branch  of  the  Anglican 
Communion,  but  his  consecration  is  believed  to  have 
antedated  that  of  any  Bishop  then  living,  of  the 
Anglican,  Roman  or  Greek  Church. 

As  already  stated,  when  Bishop  Lee  entered  the 
House  of  Bishops  he  found  there  twenty  other  mem- 
bers, all  of  whom  he  had,  of  course,  survived  at  the 
death  of  Bishop  Smith.  Since  1841  there  have  been 
consecrated  one  hundred  and  three  Bishops.  Of  these, 
his  juniors,  thirty-four  have  died  and  four  have  re- 
signed their  jurisdictions,  so  that  Bishop  Lee's  col- 
leagues in  the  last  session  of  the  House  of  Bishops 
numbered  sixty-four.  Of  a  total  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-one,  of  whom  the  first  was  consecrated  one 
hundred  and  three  years  ago,  there  were  but  seven- 
teen who  did  not  at  some  period  sit  with  Bishop  Lee 


BIOGRAPHICAI,  SKETCH. 


19 


in  the  House  of  Bishops.  What  better  illustration 
could  we  have  of  the  way  in  which  a  life  of  eighty 
years,  at  this  age  of  the  world,  stretches  along  and 
links  together  several  generations?  Such  another  life 
in  Wilmington  was  that  of  Judge  Hall,  who  was  so 
long  and  intimately  associated  with  Bishop  Lee  in 
those  varied  works  of  humanity,  charity  and  mercy, 
to  the  demands  of  which  it  was  impossible  for  either 
of  these  venerable  and  venerated  men  ever  to  turn  a 
deaf  ear. 

In  1863,  in  conformity  with  the  Canon  authorizing 
the  placing  of  foreign  congregations  under  the  care 
of  a  Bishop  selected  by  the  presiding  Bishop,  to  Bishop 
Lee  was  assigned  the  exercise  of  episcopal  duties  in 
a  congregation  organized  in  the  Island  of  Hayti.  He 
accordingly  embarked  for  Port-au-Prince  October  20th, 
and  having  performed  the  duties  required  of  him  and 
extended  his  voyage  to  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  he  re- 
turned home  on  the  i6th  of  December.  He  resigned 
his  charge  of  this  mission  in  1872,  as  he  states  in  his 
address  **with  much  reluctance''  and  only  because 
**it  was  not  probable  that  my  duties  at  home  would 
allow  me  again  to  visit  Hayti."  In  1874  the  Bishop 
had  what  was  to  him  the  great  pleasure  of  assisting 
in  the  consecration  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Holly  as  the 
first  Bishop  of  the  Church  whiclr  had  grown  out  of 
that  mission. 

In  the  reformatory  movement  which  had  sprung  up 
in  Mexico,  Bishop  Lee  from  the  beginning  took  a 
deep  interest,  and  on  January  2 2d,  1875,  at  the  re- 
quest   of   the    Mexican    Commission,   he    sailed  from 


1 1 


I 


20 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


21 


New  York  for  a  visit  of  inspection  to  that  country. 
After  a  very  interesting  journey,  he  arrived  at  home 
on  March  20th.  From  this  time  Bishop  Lee  contin- 
ued to  be  a  member  of  the  Mexican  Commission,  and, 
after  the  death  of  Bishop  Whittingham,  was  its  Pres- 
ident. His  disappointment  at  the  unsatisfactory  re- 
sults of  the  action  taken  in  regard  to  Mexico  was  very 
keen,  and  he  labored  earnestly  to  bring  about  a  better 
condition  of  affairs.  Very  recently  the  appointment 
was  made,  much  to  his  gratification,  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Gordon,  a  clergyman  of  this  Diocese,  to  go  to  Mexico 
as  the  Superintendent  of  the  work  of  the  Church  there. 

RECTOR  OF  ST.    ANDREW'S. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  constant  as- 
sociation of  Bishop  Lee,  in  Wilmington,  with  St. 
Andrew's  Church.  In  June,  1842,  he  took  temporary 
charge  of  this  Parish  and  accepted  the  Rectorship 
July  30th,  1843,  thus  adding  parochial  to  episcopal 
duties.  Here  he  made  his  dearest  friends  and  formed 
his  most  tender  associations.  Here,  through  the  gen- 
erations of  forty-five  years,  he  has  baptized  the  infants, 
confirmed  the  children,  married  the  young,  visited  the 
sick,  ministered  to  the  poor  and  afilicted,  consoled  the 

dying  and  buried  the  dead. 

In  November,  1879,  St.  Andrew's  celebrated  its 
semi-centennial,  and  on  that  occasion  the  Rector 
preached  a  sermon  containing  an  accurate  historical 
sketch  of  the  Parish.  *° 

>*In  this  sermon  is  the  foUowing  very  beautiful  and  pathetic 
passage : — 


There  was  something  beyond  description  in  his 
bearing  towards  the  weaker  and  less  prospered  mem- 
bers of  his  flock.  To  them  he  seemed  to  extend  his 
kindliest  greeting  and  on  them  he  expended  his  most 
tender  sympathies.  To  him  the  church  was  indeed 
the  place  where  the  rich  and  poor  met  together,  and 
he  fully  realized  that  the  Lord  was  the  maker  of  them 
all.  This  man,  who  had  reached  the  summit  of  pos- 
sible ambition  in  his  sacred  calling,  who  sat  in  the 
highest  seat,  whose  name  was  in  all  the  churches, 
went  about  his  parish  attending  to  the  humblest  duties 
of  a  Rector  with  as  little  display  and  as  earnest  atten- 
tion to  details  as  he  could  possibly  have  done  in  the 
little  country  parish  in  which  he  passed  the  early 
years  of  his  ministry. 

Indeed,  one  of  his  marked  characteristics  was  his 
exact  attention  to  duty,  great  or  small.  Probably 
no  man  who  had  risen  to  a  plane  so  lofty,  and  the 


"It  is  difficult  for  me  to  realize  that  three-fourths  of  the  half 
"century  we  are  reviewing  has  passed  away  since  my  entrance 
"upon  the  duties  of  Rector  of  this  Church.  This  period  is  not 
"a  small  one  in  any  point  of  view,  especially  not  a  small  one  at 
"the  present  day,  when  pastoral  connections  are  so  generally  of 
"very  brief  duration. 

"Were  I  to  indulge  in  the  memories  that  come  crowding  so 
"thickly  at  the  retrospect,  dwell  upon  the  scenes  of  deep  and 
"solemn  interest  that  have  attended  my  work,  call  up  the  forms 
"that  have  vanished  from  sight,  stand  again  at  the  many  death- 
"beds,  follow  once  more  to  the  house  appointed  for  all  living, 
"the  aged  and  the  young,  the  worn-out  pilgrim  and  the  blooming 
"youth,  the  venerable  and  the  lovely,  the  attempt  would  overtask 
^my  fortitude  and  that  of  some  of  you." 


22 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


it 


' 


boundaries  of  whose  sphere  of  effort  in  the  world  were 
so  enlarged,  ever  exceeded  him  in  his  care  of  and 
attention  to  details.  This  would  have  been  a  dis- 
advantage if  it  had  ever  seemed  to  interfere  with  the 
performance  of  his  larger  duties.  But  it  did  not,  and 
whether  he  stood  on  a  lofty  eminence  clad  in  the 
Bishop's  robes  addressing  assembled  prelates  with  all 
the  authority  naturally  incident  to  his  high  office,  or 
stood  in  the  chancel  of  some  country  church  in  his 
Diocese  preaching  the  gospel  which  his  life  illustrated, 
or  sat  in  conference  with  a  committee  of  the  conven- 
tion or  his  vestry  touching  some  minor  business  mat- 
ter, there  was  always  the  same  earnest,  intelligent, 
conscientious  application  to  the  subject  in  hand  of 
his  best  intellectual  forces. 

Even  when  pressed  with  labors  of  the  most  ex- 
alted character  he  gave  his  personal  supervision  to 
his  Sunday-schools,  one  of  white  and  the  other 
of  colored  children,  and  the  interests  of  both  he 
could  never  bring  himself  to  neglect  or  at  all  aban- 
don. 

RELATION  TO  THE  COMMUNITY. 

Bishop  Lee's  relation  as  a  pastor  could  hardly  be 
said  to  be  confined  to  his  own  parish  or  even  those 
properly  under  his  charge  as  a  Bishop.  He  occupied 
in  Wilmington  a  unique  position.  Though  of  a  re- 
tiring disposition,  from  a  combination  of  modesty  and 
reserve,  sometimes  considered  unsocial  by  those  who 
did  not  know  him  well,  he  yet  held  a  place  during 
his  long  residence  in  Wilmington  very  near  to  the 
hearts  of  thousands  of  people  who  were  not  members 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


23 


of  or  attendants  upon  the  Episcopal  Church.  Among 
those  of  other  communions  he  numbered  many  warm 
and  trusted  friends,  and  his  presence  with  a  minister 
of  another  church  beside  the  grave  of  any  prominent 
citizen  was  so  natural  as  to  be  usually  anticipated. 
His  addresses  on  such  occasions  were  models  of  what 
should  then  be  said.  What  could  be  truly  said  of  the 
dead  he  expressed  in  fitting  phrase,  but  never  a  word  of 
undiscriminating  eulogy  passed  his  lips.  He  made  use 
of  the  opportunity  to  speak  to  the  living,  combining 
consolation  to  the  mourner  and  inspiration  to  the  friend. 
An  admirable  example  of  his  felicity  on  such  occa- 
sions was  his  address  at  the  funeral  of  the  late  Chief 
Justice  Gilpin,  which  made  so  deep  an  impression 
that,  at  the  request  of  many  members  of  the  Bar 
who  heard  it,  the  Bishop  afterwards  wrote  it  out  and 
permitted  its  publication  in  Every  Evenings  May  8th, 
1876.  It  was  remarked  editorially  at  the  same  time, 
**We  fail  to  recall  anywhere  so  terse  and  admirable 
a  statement  of  the  intimate  relation  of  the  judiciary 
to  the  public  welfare  and  of  the  character  which 
should  be  borne  by  those  who  are  entrusted  by  society 
with  the  high  prerogative  of  sitting  in  judgment  be- 
tween man  and  man,  and  of  disposing  of  the  inalien- 
able rights  of  life,  liberty  and  property."  " 


11  The  report  of  this  address,  as  written  out  by  the  Bishop  from 
recollection,,  is  deemed  worthy  of  reproduction  here,  that  it  may 
no  longer  exist  only  in  the  inaccessible  files  of  a  daily  newspaper : 

Remarks  of  Bishop  Lee  upon  the  occasion  of  the  funerai, 

SERVICES  of  the  LATE  CHIEF  JUSTICE. 

The  event  which  has  assembled  to-day  this  group  of  sincere 


ft 


)•  ■t  ..■ 


V.  -  '-i..    -. 


24 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


!l 


ifl 


It  was  quite  natural  that  the  Bishop  should  express 
clear  and  enlightened  views  upon  such  a  subject 
He  was  always  alive  to  his  duty  as  a  citizen  and  a 


mourners  and  sympathizing  friends  is  more  than  a  domestic  be- 
reavement—the removal  from  an  affectionate  family  of  its  beloved 
and  venerated  head;  it  is  more  than  a  social  grief— a  breach  in 
the  circle  of  closely-drawn  friends,  or  in  a  wider  circle  to  whom 
the  departed  was  less  intimately  known,  but  by  whom  he  was  so 
highly  esteemed.  It  is  both  of  these,  in  truth,  but  it  is  a  wider 
affliction— a  public  loss — a  cause  of  sorrow  throughout  the  State 
of  which  our  lamented  friend  was  an  honored  citizen,  extending 
to  many  homes  and  many  hearts. 

Of  all  civil  institutions,  none  concerns  more  nearly  the  welfare 
and  happiness  of  the  people  than  an  enlightened,  impartial,  and  un- 
corrupt  judiciary.  Law  is  the  great  bulwark  and  conservator  of  our 
rights,  the  guardian  of  our  property,  reputation,  domestic  purity 
and  peace,  of  our  liberties  and  our  lives. 

It  guards  alike  the  rich  man's  wealth  and  the  poor  man's  cot- 
tage. It  assures  to  the  laborer  the  fruits  of  his  industry,  and  to 
the  sower  the  reaping  of  his  harvest.  It  watches  over  the  weak 
and  friendless,  the  widow  and  the  orphan.  Under  its  protection 
we  lie  down  at  night  in  peaceful  slumber,  and  wake  to  pursue 
undisturbed  our  several  callings.  In  the  words  of  an  eminent  the- 
ologian, •*  Of  law  there  can  no  less  be  acknowledged  tlian  that  her 
seat  is  the  bosom  of  God,  her  voice  the  harmony  of  the  world 
All  things  in  heaven  and  earth  do  her  homage,  the  very  least  as 
feeling  her  care,  and  the  greatest  as  not  exempted  from  her 
power;  both  angels  and  men,  and  creatures  of  what  condition  so- 
ever, though  each  in  different  sort  and  manner,  yet  all  with  uni- 
form consent,  admiring  her  as  the  mother  of  their  peace  and  joy." 

But  the  beneficial  influences  of  law  in  any  community  are 
greatly  dependent  upon  the  manner  of  its  administration.  They 
may  be  impaired  or  nullified  by  an  incompetent,  prejudiced  or 
corrupt  judiciary.  However  well-framed  or  equitable  the  statute, 
the  decision  may  be  erroneous  or  unrighteous.     The  judge  upon 


I 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


25 


member  of  a  complex  society,  rendering  unto  Caesar 
the  things  that  are  Caesar's  as  conscientiously  as  he 
rendered  unto  God  the  things   that  are    God's.      In 


the  bench  is  law  embodied  and  operative.     Justice  is  no  longer 
an  abstraction,  but  clothed  with  shape  and  roused  to  activity. 

To  discharge,  rightly  and  acceptably  for  a  lengthened  period, 
so  high  and  difficult  a  trust  demands,  of  course,  intellectual  power 
and  professional  learning,  research  and  study,  patient  attention, 
clear  perception  and  wise  discrimination.  But  it  demands  much 
more— high  moral  principles,  conscientious  fidelity,  the  love  of 
right  and  the  fear  of  God.  Amid  all  the  perplexing  questions  and 
conflicting  interests  that  present  themselves,  amid  all  the  influ- 
ences that  tend  to  warp  and  prejudice  the  mind  of  a  judge,  to 
draw  it  now  in  this  direction  and  now  in  that,  he  needs  to 
keep  ever  before  him  the  great  principles  of  truth  and  justice, 
to  be  faithful  to  conscience  and  the  voice  of  the  Supreme  Law- 
giver. If  the  ancient  master  of  eloquence  laid  it  down  as  the 
first  requisite  of  an  orator  that  he  should  be  a  good  man,  how 
much  more  applicable  is  his  maxim  to  the  judge!  Time-serving 
policy,  however  shrewd  and  cunning,  will  sooner  or  later  be  at 
fault,  and  end  in  disgrace  and  ruin.  Interest  and  expediency  can- 
not supply  the  place  of  honesty  and  integrity. 

If,  then,  I  say  of  him  whose  earthly  remains  are  now  to  be 
conveyed  to  the  house  appointed  for  all  the  living,  that  for  the 
space  of  nearly  twenty  years,  and  some  of  them  years  of  bitter 
strife  and  intense  agitation,  he  filled  this  high  office  in  a  manner 
to  win  the  approval  and  growing  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
that  he  made,  by  his  administration,  the  laws  to  be  respected  and 
honored,  that  his  judicial  ermine  never  was  stained  by  a  single 
blot,  that  the  slightest  imputation  was  never  cast  upon  his  in- 
tegrity— and  this,  I  venture  to  say,  in  the  presence  of  those  who 
were  brought  into  intimate  professional  relations  with  him — it  is 
equivalent  to  claiming  that  he  was  not  only  an  able,  but  a  good 
man.  It  is  proof  of  elevation  and  purity  of  character,  as  well  as 
of  intellectual   competence.     It  warrants  the   conclusion  that  he 


I't 


33. 

ll 


r^Jl^lP, 


\\( 


26 


BIOGRAPHICAI.  SKETCH. 


!> 


1         I 


public  matters,  especially  of  a  philanthropic  character, 
he  took  an  intelligent  interest  and  an  active  part. 
He  was  always  deeply  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  the 
colored  race,  actively  aiding  in  the  early  efforts  to 
better  their  condition  by  colonization,  and  after  the 
war  taking  a  prominent  part  in  the  **  Delaware  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Improvement  of  the  Colored  People," 
through    which    the    State    appropriation    for    colored 

schools  is  now  administered. 

INTEREST  IN  PUBUC  AFFAIRS. 

The   Bishop's   intelligent   interest   in   public   affairs 


performed  the  duties  of  his  office  from  higher  and  nobler  con- 
siderations than  personal  advantage  or  earthly  recompense,  remem- 
bering that  he  had  a  Master  and  Judge  in  heaven. 

The  memory  of  such  an  one  will  be  cherished.  The  man  dies 
but  the  character  lives.  The  example  survives,  a  stimulant  to  pro- 
fessional excellence  and  fidelity  to  great  public  trusts.  Family  and 
friends  will  embalm  in  their  hearts  the  amiable  and  estimable 
qualities  of  him  who  is  taken  from  them,  and  the  soundness  of 
his  decisions  and  rectitude  of  his  official  course  will  cause  his 
name  to  be  inscribed  permanently  among  the  honored  dead  of 
his  native  State. 

There  is  deep  solemnity,  I  may  say,  a  solemn  beauty,  in  the 
circumstances  of  his  removal.  In  the  unimpaired  vigor  of  his 
mind,  with  no  interval  of  decay  and  feebleness,  he  lays  down 
together  his  office  and  his  life.  Literally  there  was  but  a  step 
from  the  Bench  to  the  death-couch.  He  adjourns  his  own  court 
to  be  immediately  ushered  into  the  presence  of  Him  who  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  to  appear  at  that  Bar  where  there  is  no 
respect  of  persons,  where  judge  and  advocate,  counsel  and  client, 
magistrate  and  citizen — the  high  and  humble,  all  meet  together. 
Emphatically  does  this  affecting  event  remind  us  that  "We  must 
aU  appeeir  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ" 


f 


BIOGRAPHICAI,  SKETCH. 


27 


was  characterized  by  the  same  conviction  of  duty 
which  was  so  marked  a  feature  of  his  moral  and  in- 
tellectual life.  To  him  a  public  calamity  assumed 
the  character  of  a  private  sorrow,  but  at  the  same 
time,  in  his  official  utterances,  he  always  endeavored 
to  treat  such  a  subject  from  the  standpoint  of  one 
who,  being  liable  to  influence  others  from  the  mere 
force  of  his  official  relation  to  them,  must  weigh  his 
words  carefully  and  give  utterance  only  to  well-con- 
sidered conclusions.  It  was  in  this  spirit  that  from 
time  to  time  in  his  annual  addresses  he  commented 
upon  grave  public  events  from  the  double  standpoint 
of  a  patriotic  citizen  and  of  one  whose  official  posi- 
tion in  the  Church  constrained  him  to  say  nothing 
without  deliberation. 

It  is  impossible  for  even  a  casual  reader  of  his  Con- 
vention addresses  for  the  last  thirty  years  not  to  be 
impressed  with  these  allusions.  This  was  particularly 
noteworthy  during  the  late  Civil  War.  In  this  com- 
munity, the  differences  of  opinion  were  so  sharp,  and 
the  friction  created  by  them  produced  at  times  so 
much  estrangement,  that  it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
Bishop's  outspoken  and  emphatic  declaration  of  his 
views  should  have  provoked  both  criticism  and  antag- 
onism ;  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  re-examination 
of  his  official  statements  upon  this  subject  would  satisfy 
even  those  who,  at  the  time,  did  not  agree  with  him  fully, 
that,  in  this,  as  in  most  matters,  he  acted  advisedly. 

In  his  Convention  address  in  June,   1861,  he  said  : 

We  meet,  beloved  brethren,  under  public  circumstances  of 
the  gravest  character.    Our  beloved  and  hitherto  peaceful  land 


!' 


I 


i 


28 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


I'     1 


is  now  the  theatre  of  strife,  and  for  aught  that  we  can  tell, 
that  strife  may  be  protracted,  desperate  and  bloody.  No 
patriot  heart  but  must  be  deeply  oppressed  and  saddened  by 
the  outbreak  of  civil  war  and  the  prospect  of  its  inevitable 
calamities. 

He  considered  the  solemnity  which  **  pervades  many 
hearts,  favorable  to  impressions  of  that  which  is  spir- 
itual and  eternal,''  and  that : 

while  life's  uncertainty  is  forced  upon  those  who  hasten  to  the 
field,  and  the  hearts  of  families  and  friends  are  tender  and 
anxious,  the  precious  and  saving  truths  of  the  gospel  may 
find  entrance  into  bosoms  hitherto  barred  and  closed  against 
them. 


'0 

m 


To  the  Clergy  he  said  : 

Press  upon  men  awed  and  solemnized  by  the  convulsions 
and  dangers  of  the  State,  the  claims  of  that  Kingdom  which 
cannot  be  moved.  Remind  them  amid  rapid  and  startling 
changes  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and 
forever.  Urge  them  to  seek  refuge  in  the  ark  of  God  and  to 
shelter  themselves  under  the  almighty  wings. 

In  his  address  to  the  Convention  of  1862  he  stated 
in  impressive  terms  the  view  of  his  duty  upon  which 
he  had  acted : 

In  the  stem  and  awful  crisis  through  which  we  have  been 
passing,  I  have  been  constrained  by  most  sacred  and  impera- 
tive convictions  to  declare  without  concealment  or  reser\'^e  my 
views  of  what  our  holy  religion,  under  such  circumstances, 
teaches  and  requires.  When  the  foundations  of  society  and 
government  were  threatened  with  subversion,  to  have  kept 
back  the  plain  testimony  of  Scripture,  upon  great  questions 


BIOGRAPHICAL  vSKETCH. 


29 


of  civil  obligation  and  responsibility,  would  have  been  to 
shun  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  On  the  page  of 
the  New  Testament,  rebellion  against  a  lawfully  established 
government  is  a  sin  against  God.  Under  the  gravest  sense  of 
responsibility  to  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath 
made  me  overseer,  and  to  the  Great  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of 
souls,  I  have  not  felt  at  liberty  to  ignore  and  pass  over  those 
emphatic  passages  which  require  every  soul  to  be  subject  to 
the  powers  that  be,  not  onl}^  for  wrath,  but  also  for  conscience' 
sake.  In  so  doing,  I  have  felt  that  I  was  carrying  out  the 
principles  of  my  Church,  which,  while  keeping  aloof  from 
matters  of  mere  secular  policy,  has,  from  the  organization  of 
our  government,  offered  prayer,  supplication  and  intercession 
for  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  for  the  Senate  and 
Representatives  of  the  same  in  Congress  assembled,  thus  rec- 
ognizing their  lawful  sovereignty,  has  taught  even  children  in 
her  Catechetical  Exposition  of  the  Fifth  Commandment,  "to 
honor  and  obey  the  civil  authority,"  and  has  prayed  without 
ceasing  to  be  delivered  "from  all  sedition,  privy  conspiracy 
and  rebellion." 


In  the  address  of  1863  he  referred  briefly  to  the 
**  troubled  state  of  our  country''  in  connection  with 
the  General  Convention  just  preceding,  and  to  the 
discussion  of  the  subject  there  "with  entire  courtesy 
and  kindliness." 

In  1864  was  the  last  extended  reference  to  the  sub- 
ject in  these  words  : 

Were  I  to  yield  to  my  own  inclination,  I  should  close  this 
address  without  adverting  to  the  painful  subject  which,  whether 
mentioned  or  not,  occupies  so  largely  every  mind.  But  from 
the  outbreak  of  our  national  troubles,  my  conviction  has  been 
clear  and  decided,  that  Christians,  not  excepting  Christian 
ministers,  have  urgent  duties  devolved  upon  them  by  this  ter- 


ir 

I 


; 


■  4 ; 


) 


•Ml 


\\ 


I 


/ 


I' 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

rible  emergency.     For  myself,  without  prescribing  to  others, 
I  have  felt  bound  to  use  great  plainness  of  speech. 

After  alluding  to  the  fact  that  some  would  seal  the 
mouth  of  the  minister  and  check  his  utterance  of 
patriotic  sentiments  or  expressions  of  sympathy  with 
the  national  cause,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  pul- 
pit and  the  religious  press  were  freely  employed  to 
incite  and  apologize  for  rebellion,  he  continues  : 

As  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  enjoying  the  protection 
of  a  beneficent  government  and  owing  it  true  allegiance.  I  am 
bound  by  reverence  for  the  Scriptures,  as  well  as  by  love  of 
country,  to  pray  earnestly  for  all  in  authority,  and  to  sustain 
them  by  my  humble  efforts ;  and  as  the  minister  of  a  church 
whose  liturgy  beseeches  deliverance  from  sedition,  privy  con- 
spiracy and  rebellion,  I  may  lawfully  warn  as  well  as  pray 
against  these  evils. 

In  the  following  year  the  war  had  ended,  and  the 
only  allusion  made  to  it  was  an  expression  of  thank- 
fulness for  the  preservation  of  the  national  life.  This 
address,  however,  contains  a  good  illustration  of  those 
brief  but  graceful  allusions  to  great  public  calamities 
which  the  Bishop  was  wont  to  make  : 

The  nation  has  been  thrilled  with  amazement  and  horror 
and  plunged  in  the  deepest  grief  by  the  assassination  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  The  degree  to  which  the  late  President  had 
acquired  the  affection  and  confidence  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  was  scarcely  imagined  until  his  sudden  and  vio- 
lent death  opened  the  flood-gates  of  national  sorrow.  Past 
history  presents  no  more  remarkable  instance  of  public  mourn- 
ing than  has  graced  his  memory.     Future  history  will  place 


0 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


31 


his  name  high  among  her  purest  patriots  and  most  honored 
statesmen,  and  the  awful  manner  of  his  end  has  wonderfully 
tended    to  illustrate   his  character  and    endear  the  principles 

with  which  he  was  identified." 

In  1882,  upon  a  similar  occasion,  the  Bishop  al- 
luded to  the  death  of  President  Garfield  : 

A  dreadful  shock  startled  and  saddened  our  whole  country 
on  the  2d  July,  1881,  when  the  President  of  the  United  States 
was  stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  in  the  meridian 
of  his  strength  and  the  height  of  his  honor  and  usefulness. 
For  more  than  two  months  following,  the  land  was  agitated 


12  Many  persons  will  recall  an  interesting  tribute  to  his  patriot- 
ism and  character  in  his  appointment,  with  Bishop  Janes,  of  New 
York,  and  the  Hon.  Horatio  G.  Jones,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  January, 
1865,  as  a  delegation  from  the  Christian  Commission  to  visit  Fed- 
eral prisoners  in  the  South.  Bishop  Lee  had  but  just  returned 
home  from  the  funeral  of  his  last  surviving  sister  at  Norwich^ 
Conn.,  when  he  accompanied  these  gentlemen  to  the  front.  A 
brief  account  of  the  afiair  will  perhaps  be  most  acceptable  in  his 

own  words : 

Steamer  at  City  Point, 

Thursday  (Jan,  19,  1865),  10.30  P.  M, 

Dear 

At  the  close  of  an  exciting  day  I  pen  you  a  few  lines  before 
retiring  to  rest,  as  I  am  expecting  to  start  by  daybreak  to-morrow 
morning  for  the  flag-of-truce  boat  up  the  river,  where  we  can  com- 
municate with  the  rebel  authorities.  ...  The  boat  on  which 
we  came  up  the  river  was  crowded  with  soldiers  and  officers.  I 
saw,  on  the  way,  the  wreck  of  one  of  the  ships  sunk  by  the 
"Merrimac,"  also  of  the  "Florida."  We  passed  Harrison's  Land- 
ing, and  other  famous  points,  and  saw  the  old  tower  of  James- 
town Church.  We  arrived  about  5  o'clock,  visited  the  Christian 
Commission  rooms,  had  an  upset  in  an  ambulance  going  down  a 
steep  hill,   and   a  narrow  escape.     My  companions  were  a   little 


I 


<h 


^ 


» 


h 


m 


m  I 


m 


Y 


32 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


by  alternations  of  hope  and  fear  as  the  condition  of  the  suf- 
ferer appeared  favorable  or  discouraging,  until  he  breathed  his 
last  on  the  19th  of  September.  The  anxiety  and  grief  occa- 
sioned by  this  tragical  event  pervaded  all  classes  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  and  were  not  confined  to  his  own  country.  Re- 
markable manifestations  of  sympathy  came  from  abroad,  and 
especially  from  the  Sovereign  and  people  of  the  country  to 
which  we  are  united  by  so  many  ties  of  kindred,  language 
and  faith. 

At  the  Convention  of  1876  reference  was  made  to 
the  Centennial  celebration  : 


bruised,  but  I  sustained  no  injury.  On  sending  information  of  our 
arrival  to  General  Grant,  he  invited  us  to  come  to  his  headquar- 
ters, which  we  did  about  7.30  o'clock,  and  sat  with  him  until  ten. 
The  General  was  exceedingly  affable,  and  talked  with  us  very 
freely.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Grant  was  also  present,  having  come  down 
yesterday  on  a  visit  with  her  little  boy.  The  General  manifested 
much  interest  in  our  visit,  and  ordered  the  steamboat,  in  which 
we  are  now,  to  be  got  ready  to  take  us  up  in  the  morning,  and 
said  we  should  sleep  much  more  comfortably  on  board  than  any- 
where else.  He  has  given  us  a  letter  to  Mr.  Ould,  the  Southern 
Commissioner. 

Extracts  from  Diary. 

Friday,  Jan.  ^o/A.— Left  at  daybreak,  and  reached  Varina  at  8 
A.  M.  Visited  Col.  Medford  on  flag-of-truce  boat  "New  York." 
Sent  our  letters  to  Commissioner  Ould.  Visited  stations  and  camps 
in  the  Army  of  the  James.  Dined  with  Commissioner  Parker  on 
board  monitor  "Onondago." 

Saturday,  ^/5A— Remained  at  Varina  until  we  received,  about  3 
P.  M.,  an  answer  from  the  rebel  authorities  denying  our  application. 
Returned  to  City  Point  and  reported  at  General  Grant's  headquarters. 

Jan.  22d.— Went  by  cars  to  headquarters  of  General  Meade, 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  Read  service  and  preached  in  Chapel  Tent, 
I  Cor.  xi.  25." 


h 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


33 


The  completion  of  a  century  of  our  national  existence  is  a 
matter  of  interest  to  the  Christian  as  well  as  to  the  patriot. 
If  the  latter  rejoices  in  the  wonderful  growth  and  development 
of  our  country  and  the  high  position  which  she  now  occupies 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  the  former  finds  great  reason 
to  acknowledge  the  guiding,  sustaining,  protecting  hand  of 
the  great  disposer  of  events.  It  is  not  blind  chance,  or  human 
wisdom  and  policy,  that  have  brought  us  from  feeble  begin- 
nings to  such  a  condition  of  wealth,  influence  and  power,  or 
that  have  saved  us  when  exposed  to  threatened  dangers.  Del- 
aware, one  of  the  original  thirteen  States,  participated  fully 
in  the  struggles  and  sufferings  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
and  her  record  is  an  honorable  one,  both  in  the  council  cham- 
ber and  in  the  field.  The  same  divine  goodness  which  has 
guarded  the  country  has  watched  over  and  preserved  the 
Church.  Supposing  there  will  be  a  desire  for  special  acknowl- 
edgment in  our  religious  services  of  Providential  mercies,  I 
shall  put  forth  a  form  of  Prayer  and  Thanksgiving  to  be  used 
in  our  Churches  on  the  fourth  day  of  July  next,  or  on  the 
Sunday  preceding  or  following. 


M 


DOCTRINAL  VIEWS. 

Early  in  life  Bishop  Lee  esponsed  decided  views, 
which,  in  convention  after  convention,  he  unfalter- 
ingly maintained.  With  Bishop  Mcllvaine  and  Bishop 
Johns,  of  the  dead,  and  Bishop  Stevens,^'  among- 
others,  of  the  living,  he  saw  eye  to  eye  and  worked 
shoulder  to  shoulder.  These  were  always  in  accord  ; 
were  the  standard-bearers  of  the  old  Evangelical  wing 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.      With  the  soft- 


is  Since   this   was  written    Bishop  Stevens   has  joined   the   co- 
laborers  who  had  so  recently  preceded  him. 


I 


i^ 


I 


34 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


», 


U 


ening  influences  of  age  and  the  ripening  of  scholar- 
ship there  may  have  come  a  different  expression  of 
these  views,  but  they  were  held  in  clear  mental  pro- 
fession unwavering  to  the  end. 

The  views  thus  held  by  Bishop  Lee  with  so  much 
tenacity,  and  frequently  reiterated  in  his  official  ad- 
dresses to  his  clergy  had  not  been  lightly  formed. 
His  early  convention  addresses  indicate  clearly  the 
labor  which  he  bestowed  upon  the  questions  of  doc- 
trine and  practice,  upon  which,  from  time  to  time, 
he  conceived  it  to  be  his  duty  to  express  his  views, 
and  the  frankness  of  these  communications  is  noticeable. 
Very  early  after  his  consecration,  the  Oxford  move- 
ment turned  the  attention  of  thoughtful  men  to  the 
questions  involved  in  the  long  controversy  in  which 
Bishop  Lee  was  always  a  leader.  The  earliest  ex- 
pression of  his  views  upon  this  subject  was  in  the 
Convention  address  of  1844,  formulated,  like  everything 
that  emanated  from  his  pen,  after  severe  thought  and 
conscientious  deliberation,  and  characterized  alike  by 
courtesy  and  decision  : 

The  past  j^ear  has  been  marked  by  more  than  ordinary  agi- 
tation within  our  Church.  Questions  of  deep  interest  have 
been  strenuously  debated,  and  doctrinal  points  which  had 
been  for  some  time  past  in  dispute,  have  become  involved 
with  the  practical  working  of  our  ecclesiastical  system.  Hav- 
inp:  been  an  attentive  and  anxious  observer  of  the  discussion, 
and  having  sought  to  form  my  own  opinions  thereupon,  under 
a  sense  of  the  great  responsibility  of  mj'^  office,  I  do  not  feel 
at  liberty  to  withhold  from  my  Diocese  the  free  expression  of 
those  opinions.  The  views  put  forth  by  certain  divines  of  the 
University  of  Oxford  have  been  gradually  matured  into  a  the- 


If 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


35 


ological  system,  sufficiently  well  defined  to  allow  of  its  bein^- 
spoken  of  as  a  whole,  and  identified,  though  not  invidiously, 
with  its  prominent  authors.  I  have  always  been  reluctant, 
as  I  think  you  will  bear  me  witness,  to  present  controversial 
subjects  to  the  people  of  my  Diocese,  and  so  long  as  they 
were  only  subjects  of  theological  discussion,  should  have  feit 
at  liberty  to  refrain  from  noticing  them.  If  I  now  speak  more 
fully,  it  is  solely  the  effect  of  a  strong  conviction  of  impera- 
tive duty. 


The  Bishop  then  went  on  to  discuss  at  some  length 
the    peculiar    features    of    the    Oxford    system,    quite 
warmly  taking  issue  with  the  assumption  that  distrust 
of  the  system,   or  opposition  to  it,   was  indicative  of 
a  spirit  uncongenial  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Church. 
On  the  contrary,  he  considered  that  in  order  to  accept 
the  leading  features  of  the  system,  he  must  unlearn 
much   of   what  he   had   been   taught  to  consider  the 
true  doctrines  of   the   Church.      The   features  of  the 
system  in  question,  warranting  him,  as  he  conceived, 
**in    regarding    it    as    among    those    *  erroneous    and 
strange   doctrines    contrary  to   God's  word'   which   a 
Bishop,   by  his  consecration   vow,   is  required   to    *be 
ready  to  banish  and  drive  away  from  the  Church  and 
openly  to  call   upon  and  encourage   others   to  do   the 
same,' ''   were  :    i.  That  scripture  and  tradition  taken 
together  are   the  joint  rule  of  faith.     2.    The  denial 
of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  only.     3.  The 
exaltation  of  the  sacraments  as  exclusive  channels  of 
grace.     4.  Subordination  of  the  doctrine  of  the  atone- 
ment.    5.  The  acceptance  of  the  decrees  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Trent 


36 


BIOGRAPHICAL,  SKETCH. 


i 


This  early  enunciation  of  principles  was  the  key- 
note of  his  future  official  utterances  in  his  own  Dio- 
cese. Having  thus  defined  the  scope  of  error,  he  was 
constant  in  rebuking  its  every  expression,  whether  in 
word  or  practice. 

Finally  came  to  him  the  grand  opportunity  of  a 
Bishop's  life.  In  1868  it  was  his  turn  to  preach  the 
sermon  at  the  opening  of  the  General  Convention,  a 
duty  which  never  devolves  upon  the  same  bishop 
twice.  His  sermon  was  a  reszcme  of  the  teachings 
of  his  lifetime,  and  particularly  directed  against  sacer- 
dotalism, at  that  time  the  most  active  phase  of  the 
contrary  movement. 

The  impression  produced  by  this  sermon  was  so 
profound  as  to  lead  to  an  effort  in  the  House  of 
Deputies  to  dispense  with  the  customary  resolution 
to  print  it.  After  some  debate  the  effort  failed,  it 
having  been  suggested,  very  truly,  that  the  course 
proposed  would  simply  lead  to  its  wider  publication.'* 


(I 


"  In  any  statement  of  Bishop  Lee's  doctrinal  views,  it  is  impor- 
tant to  note  that  his  churchmanship  was  decided  and  pronounced. 
This  was  particularly  illustrated  by  his  "Open  Letter"  to  Bishop 
Cummins,  whose  "purpose  of  starting  a  new  sect"  occasioned  him 
the  "deepest  pain  and  solicitude." 

He  regarded  Christianity  as  an  inner  Divine  life,  embodied  in 
the  visible  organism  of  the  Historic  Church. 

In  a  published  sermon  he  said,-"  The  Christian  Ministry  is  a 
Divine  institution,  unlike  the  officers  of  a  merely  human  society 
or  organization."  "The  Church  must  continue  as  an  organized 
body  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

In  a  very  interesting  private  letter  to  a  young  clergyman,  writ- 
ten several  years  ago,  the  Bishop  says   "respecting  'the  invisible 


i^' 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


37 


SCHOLARSHIP. 

Whatever  difference  there  may  be  in  opinion  as  to 
his  convictions  on  these  subjects,  as  to  the  grade  of 
Bishop  Lee's  scholarship  there  has  never  been  any 
doubt.  Both  as  a  Grecian  and  Hebraist  he  ranked 
high,  working  for  many  years  on  the  revised  version 
of  the  New  Testament  issued  in  18S1.  Upon  this 
Committee  he  was  the  only  member  of   the   Protes- 


<< 


(( 


«* Church,*  or  rather  'the  Church  Mystical,'  'the  spiritual  body  of 
*' Christ,'  'the  blessed  company  of  all  faithful  people,'  my  views 
"are  those  of  Hooker,  Barrow,  Jackson,  and  the  great  Church  of 
*'  England  theologians  (as  distinguished  from  Archbishop  Laud  and 
the  non-jurors).  Upon  this  subject  I  refer  you  to  Hooker,  Book 
III.,  Sec.  i. ;  Barrow,  Sermon  on  Eph.  iv.  4;  Bishop  HaU's  Ser- 
"mon  on  Cant.  vi.  9;  Jackson  on  the  Creed,  etc." 

In  the  same  letter  Bishop  Lee  thus  clearly  enunciated  his  view 
of  the  continuance  of  the  apostolic  office,  strictly  speakintr.  "Some 
"  of  their  duties  are  perpetuated  in  the  Presbyterate ;  others,  accor- 
"ding  to  our  view,  only  in  the  Episcopate,  as  ordination,  chief 
"pastorate,  etc.  But  their  great  distinction  as  the  announcers  of 
"the  way  of  salvation  and  proclaimers  with  authority  of  Divine 
"Truths,  was  peculiar  to  those  immediately  appointed  by  Christ, 
"including  St.  Paul.  The  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are  in  the 
"  foundation  wail  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  The  Church  is  built  upon 
"the  foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  Him- 
"self  being  the  head  of  the  corner.  The  power  of  remitting  and 
"  retaining  sins  conveyed  to  them  was  in  its  highest  exercise,  the 
"power  of  publishing  with  authority  the  conditions  of  forgiveness 
"or  reprobation.  Hence  their  writings  constitute  the  New  Testa- 
"ment.  The  ground  of  pronouncing  a  book  as  canonical  was 
"Apostolic  authorship  or  sanction.  To  the  gospels  of  Mark  and 
"  Luke,  and  the  Acts,  it  was  weU  understood  that  the  sanction  of 
"the  Apostles  was  given. 


•J 


( 


I 


38 


BIOGRAPHICAIv  SKETCH. 


4 


a 


tant  Episcopal  Communion.  A  very  admirable  pam- 
phlet on  the  methods  of  revision,  and  the  share  of 
the  American  Committee  therein,  was  published  by 
the  Bishop  soon  after  the  issue  of  the  revised  version. 
So  early  as  1841  both  Trinity  and  Hobart  Colleges 
acknowledged  his  abilities  by  the  degree  of  S.  T.  D. 
In  i860  his  own  alma  mater ^  Harvard,  gave  him  the 
same  degree,  and  Delaware  College  that  of  LL.  D.    in 

1877. 

A  man  to  whom  frivolities  were  utterly  distaste- 
ful, and  even  the  intercourse  of  social  life  not  too 
alluring,**  his  time  was  given  wholly  to  the  active 
duties  of  his  office,  the  cultivation  of  the  spiritual  life 
and  the  pursuit  of  severe  intellectual  studies.  Though 
all  were  aware  of  his  great  store  of  ancient  lore,  few 
knew  how  indefatigably  he  kept  abreast  of  the  thought 
of  the  age.  Few  modern  philosophers  were  unknown 
to  him,  however  sparing  might  be  his  pulpit  allusions 

to  the  same. 

As  a  preacher  his  chastened  fervor,  his  unfeigned 
piety,  his  wealth  of  illustration,  recalled  ever  and  anon 
Jeremy    Taylor,    while    his    matchless    English,    con- 


"I  think  it  highly  important  that  this  distinction  be  kept  in 
"view,  and  shrink  from  the  designation  of  our  Bishops  as  Apos- 
**tles,  as  an  unscriptural  and  dangerous  assumption.'* 

"This  expression,  while  perhaps  correctly  characterizing  the 
Bishop,  as  he  appeared  to  casual  acquaintances,  scarcely  does  jus- 
tice to  his  genuine  enjoyment  of  social  intercourse  in  moderation, 
and  his  readiness  to  participate  in  the  amusements  of  the  family, 
as  appreciated  by  those  who  knew  him  intimately. 


BIOGRAPHICAI,  SKETCH. 


39 


trolled  eloquence  and  unmistakable  sincerity  were 
akin  to  those  which  have  delighted  more  than  one 
generation  of  earnest,  scholarly  men  in  the  produc- 
tions of  Cardinal  Newman. 

Beyond  his  appointed  work,  which  he  always  deemed 
full  employment  for  all  his  faculties,  Bishop  Lee 
sought  no  literary  renown.  That  so  freely  accorded 
him  was  the  natural  fruit  of  ministerial  labors.  From 
the  meditations  which  these  engendered,  he  cr>'stal- 
lized  several  volumes,  consisting  largely,  if  not  alto- 
gether, of  sermons ;  and  from  time  to  time  all  of  his 
charges,  and  many  of  his  sermons,  were  printed  in 
pamphlet  form.  His  published  books  were  '^Life 
of  St.  Peter,"  **Life  of  St.  John,'*  **  Voice  in  the 
Wilderness,''  **  Memoir  of  Miss  Susan  Allibone," 
**  Treatise  on  Baptism,"  **  Eventful  Nights  in  Bible 
History."  He  was  also  the  author  of  the  article  on 
the  **  Pentateuch"  and  other  articles  in  The  Church 
Cyclopaedia, 

The  subjects  of  his  charges  show  the  bent  of  his 
mind  as  to  the  Doctrine  and  Practice  which  he  deemed 
it  necessary  to  enforce  in  obedience  to  the  Canon. 
They  are:  **The  Lawfulness  and  Responsibility  of 
Individual  Judgment  in  Things  Spiritual,"  ''The  One 
Mediator,"  "Some  of  the  Requisites  for  a  Success- 
ful Ministry,"  "The  Faithful  and  Wise  Servant,  or 
the  Ministry  Adapted  to  Its  Work,"  "Some  Points 
of  Ministerial  Duty,"  "The  Office  of  the  Ministry 
to  be  Magnified,"  "The  Memorial  Feast,"  "The 
Remitting  and  Retaining  of  Sins,"  "Lambeth  Con- 
ference of  1878,"   "Our  Centenary." 


I 


40 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


f 


His  sermons  cover  the  whole  range  of  Christian 
doctrine  and  Bible  truth.  *^ 

Alike  in  Charges  and  Sermons  was  noted  the  ripen- 
ing perfection  of  intellectual  culture  and  spiritual  ex- 
ercise.    One,  himself  among  our  best  masters  of  liter- 

w  The  following  list  comprises  the  published  pamphlets  of  Bishop 
Lee,  so  far  as  known,  chronologically  arranged: 

Pastoral  Letter  to  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  the  Diocese  of  Dela- 
ware in  Behalf  of  Missions^  August  20th,  1841. 

Sermon  and  Address  at  the  Fifty-Second  Annual  Convention  of  the 
Diocese y  May  25th,  1842. 

Sertnon  at  St.  Luke*s  Churchy  Seaford^  at  its  consecration  and  the 
ordination  of  Mr.  John  Long,  May  28th,  1843. 

Address  at  the  Laying  of  the  Comer-stone  of  St.  ThomcLS*  Churchy 
Newark,  August  24th,  1843. 

Unsearchable  Riches  of  Christ.  Sermon  at  the  Annual  Commence- 
ment of  the  General  Theological  Seminary  in  St.  Peter's  Church, 
June  30th,  1843. 

Faith  Apprehending  Christ s  Spiritual  Presence  in  the  Supper  and 
The  Sect  Everywhere  Spoken  Against.  Two  Sermons  in  St. 
Andrew's  Church,  August  6th,  1843. 

The  Uncertainty  of  the  Morrow.  Sermon,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
death  of  Governor  Thomas  Stockton,  in  St  Andrew's  Church, 
March  8,  1846. 

The  Lawfulness  and  Responsibility  of  Individual  fudgmcnt  in 
Things  Spiritual  (The  Primary  Charge,  May  27th,  1846). 

Salvation  by  Grace  through  Faith.  Sermon  at  the  opening  of  Con- 
vention, May  3Tst,  1848. 

TTie  Society  of  Divine  Original.    May  30th,  1849. 

Forms  of  Prayer  put  forth  during  the  Cholera  Visitation.     1849. 

Second  Charge^The  One  Mediator.    May  29th,  1850. 

Letter  to  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware.     185 1. 

Third  Charge—Some  Requisites  for  a  Successful  Ministry.  May 
31st,  1854. 


W 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


41 


ary  resource  and  perfect  in  his  use  of  the  mother 
tongue,  has  given  a  masterly  characterization  of  his 
work  as  embodied  in  his  latest  volume.  The  analysis 
of  the   Bishop's  style   is  so   complete,  and  applies  vso 

A  Few  Words  in  Vindication  of  the  Action  of  the  Court  of 
Bishops,    Convened  at  Camden,  N.  /.,  September,  1853-1S54. 

The  Divine  Ownership.  Sermon  in  Christ  Church,  Christiana 
Hundred,  April  23d,  1855. 

The  Right  and  Responsibility  of  Private  Judgtnent.  (The  Primary 
Charge,  reprinted),  1855. 

The  True  Nature  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Sermon  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Evangelical  Knowledge, 
October  22d,  1856. 

An  Earnest  Word  to  Young  Men.  Sermon  in  St.  Andrew's 
Church,  Wilmington,  July  iSth,  1856. 

Timely  Preparation.  Sermon  in  St.  Andrew's  Church,  August 
30th,  1857. 

Fourth  Charge— The  Faithful  and  Wise  Servant,  or.  The  Ministry 
adapted  to  its  Work.    June  3d,  1857. 

The  Lamb  the  Light  of  the  Church.  Sermon  at  the  consecration 
of  Bishops  Odenheimer  and   Bedell,   Richmond,  October   13th, 

1859. 
Bethel  Revisited.     Sermon  at  the  consecration  of  Christ  Church, 

Dover,  May  17,  i860. 

Fifth  Charge— Some  Points  of  Ministerial  Duty,  June  6th,  1S60. 

The  Christian  Citizen's  Duty  in  the  Present  Crisis.  Sermon  in 
St  Andrew's  Church,  April  21st,  1861. 

God  to  be  Glorified  in  the  Fires.  Thanksgiving  Sermon  in  St 
Andrew's  Church,  November  27th,  1862. 

Spirit  of  the  ChHstian  Ministry.  Sermon  at  the  first  commence- 
ment of  the  Divinity  School,  Philadelphia,  June  i8th,  1863. 

Sixth  Charge— The  Office  of  the  Ministry  to  be  Magnified.    June 

7th,  1865. 
Funeral  Sennon- Admiral  S.  F.  Du  Pont.    In  Christ  Church,  Tune 

2Sth,  1865. 


I     W 


'    I 


il 


!-(i 


»•,., 


i 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


1 1 
i 


r 


fully  to  his  writings  in  general,  that  it  may  properly 
be  quoted  here  in  full : 

Bishop  Lee  has  undertaken  an  important  task  in  "Event- 
ful Nights  in  Bible  History,"  and  one  in  every  line  of  which 


The   Great  National  Deliverance.     Thanksgiving    Sermon    in    St 

Andrew's  Church,  December  7th,  1865. 
Sermon  at  the  Opening  of  the  General  Convention,    Trinity  Church, 

New  York,  October  7th,  1868. 
Review  of  Bishop  of  New  York's  Pastoral  Letter  by  "  One  of  the 

Nine:'    1869. 
The  Bishop  of  Delaware's  Reply  to  the  Request  of  the  Cofiference 

held  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  November,  1869. 
A  Letter  to  the  Congregation  of  St.  Andrew's  Church.     December 

20th,  1869. 
Seventh  Charge — The  Memorial  Feast.    June  7th,  1871. 
The   Word  of  Life  in   the  Temple.     Sermon  at  the  consecration 

of  St.  Anne's  Church,  Middletown,  April  4th,  1872. 
The  Mark  of  the  Prize.    Sermon  at  St  Andrew's  Church,  January 

I 2th,  1873. 
Memorial  Sermon— Bishop  Mcllvaine.    Christ  Church,  Cincinnati, 

May  9th,  1873. 
Open    Letter  to   the  Rt.  Rev.    George  D.    Cummins.     November 

14th,  1873. 
Eighth  Charge—The  Remitting  and  Retaining  of  Sins.    June  3d, 

1874. 
Tlhe    Reformation    in    Mexico.      Reprinted    from    the    American 

Church  Review,  October,  1S75. 
Proper  Function  of  the  Christian  Ministry.     An  Essay,  1876. 
Ninth  Charge— Lambeth  Co7jfercnce  of  1S78.    June  4th,  1879. 
Semi-Centennial    of   St.   Andrew's    Church,      Sermon,    November 

13th,  1879. 
Address  on  Mexico,  before  the  Board  of  Missions.    October,  1880. 
Historical  Sermon,  Diocese  of  Delaware.    June  7th,  1882. 
The   Lurking   Adder.      Sermon    before    the    Church    Temperance 

Society,  Trinity  Chapel,  Wilmington,  December  3d,  18S2. 


if 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


I 


43 


he  shows  his  deep  sense  of  responsibility.  The  temptation  to 
indulge  in  rhetoric  as  a  means  of  heightening  the  effect  of  the 
sublime  Scriptural  night  scenes  chosen  by  him  would  have 
been  strong  enough  to  one  less  filled  with  reverence  for  the 
inspired  words.  As  it  is,  this  unique  volume  resembles  a 
string  of  rubies  and  black  pearls.  We  have  darkness  and  fire- 
light, each  heightening  the  other,  and  used  to  bring  out  the 
meaning  which  the  Bishop  reverently  finds  in  these  wondrous 
Nights.     A  clear,  terse,  rapid  style  of  narrative  intermingled 


Is  the  Young  Man  Safe?  Sermon  at  St  John's  School,  Faulk- 
land,  Del.,  March  2d,  1883. 

The  Dark  Side  and  the  BriirJit.  Sermon  on  Thanksgiving  Day, 
November  29th,  1883,  in  St.  Andrew's  Church. 

Life  and  Ministry  of  Benjamin  Bosworth  Smith.  Memorial  Ser- 
mon delivered  before  the  Fifty-sixth  Annual  Council  of  the 
Diocese  of  Kentucky,  September  24th,  1S84,  in  Christ  Church, 
Louisville. 

Sermon  in  Grace  Church,  New  York,  June  24th,  1885,  on  the  oc- 
casion of  the  consecration  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  David  Ferguson 
as  Bishop  of  Cape  Palmas  and  Parts  Adjacert,  with  Missionary 
Jurisdiction. 

Statement  Respecting  our  Church  Work  in  Mexico  since  October, 
jSSj.     Published  February  6th,  1886. 

Tenth  Charge— Our  Centenary.    June  2d,  1886. 

The  World's  Ignorance  and  The  Gospel's  Power.  Sermon  at  the 
Commencement  of  the  Episcopal  Theological  School,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  June  i6th,  1886. 

Doctrinal  Preaching.  Address  before  the  Evangelical  Education 
Society,  Grace  Church,  Chicago,  October  24th,  1886. 

Address  before  the  American  Church  Missionary  Society  upon  the 
Fundamental  Principles  of  the  Society.  Holy  Trinity  Church, 
Philadelphia,  December  6th,  1886. 

The  Church  in  the  House.     A  persuasive  to  family  religion,  pub- 
lished by  the  Evangelical  Knowledge  Society  (without  date). 
The  Favored  House.    A  tract  published  by  the  Evangelical  Knowl- 
edge Society  (without  date). 


A 


I 
I 


\ 


<i 


! 


li 


44 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


! 


with  reflections,  the  result  evidently  of  earnest  thought,  and 
drawn  directly  from  the  subject  under  treatment,  is  an  admir- 
able characteristic  of  Bishop  Lee's  work.  He  opens  his  book 
with  the  solemn  promise  of  Abraham,  and  goes  on  through 
the  splendid  darkness  until  the  lessons  of  many  sublime 
nights  are  read.  He  preserves  the  unity  of  the  vast  subject 
he  touches.  From  the  sleepless  night  passed  by  King  Ahas- 
uerus,  after  he  had  given  his  consent  to  a  crime  of  blood  and 
horror,  we  pass  to  the  birth  of  the  Creator  and  Saviour  of  the 
world ;  and  even  the  careless  reader  must  see  how  well  Bishop 
Lee  has  maintained  the  unity  underlying  two  events  so  differ- 
ent and  yet  so  closely  allied.  The  graphic  description  of  the 
state  of  affairs  at  the  court  of  King  Ahasuerus  is  one  of  the 
best  examples  of  the  directness  of  Bishop  Lee's  method. 

The  reason  of  the  wakeful  night  of  the  King,  as  ex- 
plained by  Bishop  Lee,  cannot  fail  to  excite  new  interest  in 
the  exquisite  figure  of  Queen  Esther  as  a  symbol  of  the  time 
to  come.  Bishop  Lee's  object  seems  to  be  to  draw  his  readers 
nearer  to  the  Scriptures  by  putting  all  the  resources  of  a 
thinker  and  artist  in  words  into  the  tableaux  he  presents. 
The  event  of  the  Incarnation  is  tenderly  depicted,  and  the 
burst  of  the  "Gloria"  has  the  effect  of  a  rush  of  sunshine 
after  a  gloomy  night.  Later  comes  the  night  of  the  Resur- 
rection—most eventful  of  nights— and  still  the  story  is  not 
all  told,  though  the  seal  has  been  put  to  the  establishment  of 
Christianity.  The  prison  of  Philippi  is  a  beautiful  picture 
drawn  from  the  text :  "And  at  midnight  Paul  and  Silas  prayed 
and  sang  praises  unto  God:  and  the  prisoners  heard  them. 
And  suddenly  there  was  a  great  earthquake,  so  that  the  foun- 
dations of  the  prison  were  shaken,  and  immediately  all  the 
doors  were  opened,  and  every  one's  bands  were  loosed." 
Bishop  Lee's  sincerity  and  simplicity  of  manner  cannot  hide 
the  scholarship  of  a  work  which  shows  on  every  page  the 
results  of  patient  research.  It  is  not  a  sectarian  book  It 
appeals  to  all  Christians,  and  mostly  to  those  who  believe 
most.     Bishop   Lee   has  followed  as  closely  as   possible   the 


II 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


45 


\     »- 


letter  of  the  Scriptural  eventful  scenes.  But  his  reverential 
treatment  of  them,  and  the  wealth  of  theological  learning  he 
lavishes  on  them,  come  nearer  more  often  to  the  spirit  than 
the  letter.  "Eventful  Nights"  will  help  to  elevate  all  that 
read  it,  and  it  will  be  of  use  even  to  those  who  have  ceased 
to  look  on  the  Bible  as  inspired,  since  Bishop  Lee  has  pre- 
sented the  poetical  aspects  of  episodes  that  are  sometimes 
passed  over  by  those  who  run  and  read.  "No  Night  There," 
the  culminating  chapter  of  the  volume,  is  full  of  faith  and 
hope.  It  is  a  view  of  the  nightless  heaven,  where  the  beatific 
vision  makes  all  resplendent.  Bishop  Lee  has  worked  out  a 
fine  conception  with  strength,  and,  above  all,  with  sincerity 
and  sympathy  with  the  highest  poetical  meaning  of  Scriptural 
episodes.  And  having  done  so,  he  has  made  a  book  for  which 
all  Christians— some  of  them  perhaps  making  allowances  for 
slight  differences  of  opinion  — will  thank  him.  "Eventful 
Nights  in  Bible  History"  is  an  example  of  what  earnest  faith 
and  reverence,  combined  with  literary  skill  and  taste,  can  do 
for  the  cause  of  religion. 


I 


'    4 


LAMBETH  CONFERENCE  OF   1 878. 

Perhaps  no  epoch  of  Bishop  Lee's  life  was  more 
eventful,  more  interesting,  more  fruitful  in  honors,  so 
unsolicited  and  meekly  worn  as  to  be  well-nigh  pain- 
ful, as  his  visit  to  the  Lambeth  Conference  in  England 
in  1878.  It  seemed  almost  the  crown  of  this  gentle, 
illustrious,  beneficent  life.  Being  the  senior  Bishop 
there  present  of  the  American  Church,  on  all  sides 
English-speaking  people  hastened  to  do  him  honor  by 
showing  that  reverence  to  age,  to  service,  to  a  worthy 
representative  of  long-tried  institutions,  certainly  more 
inherent  in  the  English  constitution  than  in  our  own. 
The  flush  of  this  gracious   triumph,  so  honorable  to 


' 


4$ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


^  I 


II' 


I   r 


I 


those  wno  accorded  it,  followed  him  into  Switzerland 
where,  also,  he  was  eagerly  listened  to  by  reverent 
audiences,  yet  all  this  was  without  the  slightest  effect 
upon  his  sturdy  humility. 

The  impression  made  by  Bishop  Lee  abroad  was 
thus  expressed  by  one  of  his  most  eminent  colleagues 
in  the  House  of  Bishops,  in  a  letter  to  the  **  Standard 
of  the  Cross,"  written  at  the  time  from  Grindelwald, 
Switzerland : 

"  The  Conference  assembled  at  the  chapel  in  Lambeth  Palace 
on  the  second  day  of  July,  1878.  In  this  chapel  our  first 
Bishops  were  consecrated.  One  hundred  Bishops  were  present 
during  the  sessions. 

"  Bishop  Lee,  of  Delaware,  the  eldest  of  our  Bishops  present, 
has  acted  as  our  chairman,  and  on  several  occasions  as  our 
representative. 

**The  subject  on  Wednesday  morning  was,  'Voluntary  Boards 
of  Arbitration.*  The  Bishop  of  Delaware  took  part  in  this  dis- 
cussion. 

**The  last  subject  on  the  programme  was,  *The  Conditions, 
Progress  and  Needs  of  the  Various  Churches  of  the  Anglican 
Communion.*  This  was  introduced  by  the  Bishop  of  Delaware. 
The  final  sessions  of  the  Conference  at  Lambeth  occupied  every 
day  of  this  last  week  in  July,  1878. 

*'  On  the  second  day  of  the  final  sessions  the  Bishop  of  Dela- 
ware arrived  ;  and,  as  the  eldest  member  of  our  American  Epis- 
copate present,  became  our  spokesman. 

*'The  presence  and  counsels  of  this  good  and  eminently 
wise  man  were  a  marked  comfort  to  us,  and  a  distinguished 
service  to  the  Conference.  I  was  in  a  position  to  hear  from 
Prelates  their  opinion  of  his  judgment ;  and  it  was  of  the  high- 
est. He  spoke  seldom,  only  when  appealed  to,  or  when  an 
obvious  necessity  had  arisen. 

**  During  a  discussion  of  moment  I   remember  that,   after 


w 


ti 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


47 


many  statements  and  opinions  had  been  expressed,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  turned  to  Bishop  Lee,  and  said  he  should 
be  very  glad  to  learn  what  the  Bishop  of  Delaware  thinks. 
Such  a  reference  to  an  individual  opinion  was  seldom  made 
during  the  Conference,  and  I  mention  it  as  indicating  the  re- 
spect which  was  paid  to  Bishop  Lee's  discreetness. 

*"Not  a  word  spake  he  more  than  was  neede; 
And  that  was  seyd  in  form  and  reverence, 
And  short  and  quike,  and  full  of  high  sentence, 
Souuiug  in  moral  vertue  was  his  speche.* 

"At  the  close,  when  it  was  in  order  for  the  highest  digni- 
tary or  the  oldest  Bishop  of  the  several  churches  to  express 
his  sentiments  as  to  the  influence  of  the  Conference  and  the 
urbanity  and  tact  of  the  presiding  Archbishop,  certainly  no 
speech  was  more  dignified,  graceful  or  weighty  than  that  of 
Bishop  Lee.     It  made  a  profound  impression. 

"The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  wished  that  one  of  the 
Bishops  from  the  United  States  should  preach  the  sermon  at 
the  close  of  the  Conference,  but  left  the  appointment  of  preacher 
for  their  selection.  Bishop  Lee  was  unanimously  chosen  ;  but, 
after  some  days'  reflection,  he  declined  the  honorable  task."" 


"These  interesting  reminiscences  are  extracts  from  "The  Can- 
terbury Pilgrimage,"  written  from  England  by  the  Bishop  of  Ohio. 
As  printed  in  the  text,  they  are  a  correction  of  the  original  arti- 
cle by  a  copy  kindly  sent  by  Bishop  Bedell,  in  response  to  a  letter 
written  to  him  on  the  subject  since  the  death  of  Bishop  Lee. 
The  letter  inclosing  them,  addressed  to  a  member  of  Bishop  Lee's 

family,  is  also  subjoined:  _ 

lauiiiy,  J  Diocese  of  Ohio,      -» 

Gambier,  July  I,  1S87.   i 

# 

3fy  Dear  Friend-l  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  recall  inci- 
dents which  might  interest  you,  illustrating  that  influence  which 
your  noble  father  so  quietly  exerted  at  the  Lambeth  Conference  of 
1878,  but  the  very  fact  that  his  influence  was  so  quiet,  that  he  was 


» 


I 


I 


48 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


The  Bishop  arrived  at  his  home  on  Wednesday, 
October  22d,  1878,  and  on  the  Thursday  following, 
an  audience  of  over  a  thousand  people  crowded  the 
Opera-House  in  this  city  to  give  him  a  public  welcome 
home.  The  reception  was  made  the  occasion  of  the 
gathering  of  children  of  the  Sunday-schools  of  all  the 
Episcopal  churches,  and  on  the  platform  were  gath- 
ered not  only  the  entire  clergy  of  the  Diocese,  but 
also  many  ministers  of  other  communions,  together 
with  many  of  our  prominent  citizens.  The  deep  sen- 
sibility manifested  by  the  Bishop  at  so  marked  an 
expression  of   the  affection   of   his  people  cannot   be 


so  retiring,  that  his  self-forgetfulness  was  so  great,  prevented  the 
occurrence  of  incidents  in  which  he  would  have  been  the  central 
figure,  or  in  any  sense,  prominent ;  so  that  we  are  now  deprived 
of  reminiscences  which  would  have  been  eminently  enjoyable.  His 
distinguishing  characteristic  was  humility,  and  it  was  strikingly 
manifest  during  the  Lambeth  Conference.  He  seldom,  if  ever, 
spoke ;  I  think  I  may  safely  say,  never  unless  specially  appealed 
to,  and  then  with  a  terseness  which,  while  it  was  instructive,  in- 
volved a  brevity  that  was  always  provoking  to  us,  for  we  knew 
how  much  wisdom  he  was  keeping  veiled  from  those  who  were 
unacquainted  with  his  powers.  A  sufficient  illustration  of  what  I 
mean  is  given  by  the  fact  that,  although  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  preach 
the  sermon  at  the  close  of  the  Conference,  and,  although  the 
honorable  duty  was  pressed  upon  him  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  he  declined  it  deliberately  after  several  days*  con- 
sideration. 

It  will  not  be  easy  for  you  to  obtain  a  likeness  of  your  vener- 
able father  in  any  prominent  position,  for  he  loved  retirement  and 
abhorred  the  notoriety  which  his  pre-eminence  forced  upon  him. 

With  my  sincere  condolence  in  the  loss  of  such  a  father,  be- 
lieve me  truly  yours, 

G.  T.  Eedeli^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL,  SKETCH. 


49 


better  indicated  than  by  quoting  the  opening  sentence 
of  his  address  on  that  occasion : 

Language  is  a  great  and  precious  gift  from  God,  but  there 
are  emotions  from  the  heart  which  words  cannot  express,  and 
such  emotions  are  excited  by  the  welcome  which  you  have 
given  me  now. 

RELATION  TO  HIS  PEOPLE. 

Deep  and  strong  was  the  affection  felt  by  Bishop 
Lee  for  his  people.  His  parishioners  were  to  him 
not  a  collective  body,  but  each  one  was  an  individual, 
possessing  a  distinct  and  well-defined  relation  to  him, 
while  his  attitude  towards  the  clergy  and  laity  of  his 
Diocese  involved  something  of  an  actual  and  not 
merely  a  nominal  fatherhood ;  so  that  the  phrase, 
**  Reverend  Father  in  God,"  so  often  addressed  to 
him,  was  not  a  mere  official  one,  but  so  far  as  he 
was  concerned,  had  a  reality  which,  in  the  same 
speech,  was  thus  reflected : 

During  my  voyage  to  the  Old  World  I  felt  a  comfort  in  the 
fact  that  I  knew  I  was  remembered  in  the  prayers  of  my 
people.  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  what  was  pleasant  to  the 
eye,  have  worshipped  in  old  and  stately  churches,  travelled 
through  beautiful  cities,  but  not  one  sight  of  them  all  was  so 
pleasant  as  this  before  me  to-night. 

On  Sunday,  October  27th,  the  Bishop  preached  in 
his  own  church  a  most  interesting  sermon,  giving  his 
impressions  of  the  gathering  at  Lambeth  Palace,  in 
which  he  had  recently  taken  part.  This  sermon  was 
published  in  full  in  Every  Evening  on  the  following 
day. 

4 


\ 


so 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


4». 


At  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Diocesan  Convention 
at  Dover,  in  June  of  the  year  following,  the  Bishop 
delivered   his  ninth   charge  to  the  clergy,    taking  as 
the  subject  of  it,  '*The  Lambeth  Conference  of  1878," 
and  giving  in  a  more  permanent  form  a  narrative  of 
the  proceedings  and  his  impressions  of  the  character 
of  the  body.     At  the  same  Convention,  in  his  annual 
address,  the  Bishop  gave  utterance  to  some  expressions 
which  showed  how  deep  and  permanent  were  his  im- 
pressions  of  the  manifestations  of  affection  which  had 
greeted  his  return.     After  alluding  to  the  severe  storms 
and    adverse   winds   which    had    delayed    his    passage 
home,  he  continued: 

I  was  cheered  on  my  way  with  the  anticipation  of  soon 
meeting  the  many  dear  brethren  who  had  shown  such  kind 
interest  at  my  departure,  and  doubted  not  that  they  would 
gladly  welcome  me  home.  Yet  I  was  quite  unprepared  for 
such  a  demonstration  from  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  the  Dio- 
cese as  greeted  my  return.  Such  large  gatherings,  affectionate 
congratulations  and  expressions  of  attachment  quite  overcame 
me.  I  could  not  then  respond  to  them  as  I  would;  neither 
can  I  now.  But  those  welcomes  will  ever  be  among  my  most 
cherished  recollections,  will  greatly  encourage  and  sustain  me 
in  the  performance  of  my  official  duties  and  increase  my  desire 
to  repay  such  affection  by  whatever  service  I  can  render. 

Nor  was  this  feeling  confined  to  the  Bishop.  The 
relation  of  the  clergy  to  him  was,  especially  during 
the  last  ten  years,  very  close  and  tender.  Two  or 
three  causes  led  to  the  deepening  of  this  feeling  of 
late  years.  Years  ago  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that 
there  was  more  or  less  constraint  in  his  intercourse 


>4 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

with  those  clergymen  who  were  not  personally  inti- 
mate with  him.  This  arose  partly  from  the  Bishop^s 
naturally  reserved  manner,  and  partly  from  the  more 
intense  party  feeling  then  existing,  not  only  in  the 
Diocese,  but  in  the  Church  at  large.  This  feeling 
gradually  softened,  and  it  was  noticed  and  often  re- 
marked by  the  Bishop's  friends  that,  after  his  return 
from  England,  his  natural  reserve  had  been  much 
moderated.  This  was  due  probably  both  to  that  influ- 
ence which  such  a  conference  could  not  fail  to  exert 
upon  a  liberal  and  cultivated  mind,  and  also  to  the 
warmth  of  his  reception  home  by  the  clergy,  which 
in  his  modesty  he  had  not  anticipated. 

Then  again,    sore  trials  came  upon  him  officially, 
in  the  administration  of  his  office,  with  a  pitiless  and 
petty  persecution   such  as  excited   the  sympathy  and 
indignation  of  the  clergy  who  best  know  how  unwar- 
ranted it  was.     The  strongest  manifestations  of  this 
came    from  those  who  had    theretofore  differed  with 
him  in  church  politics,   so-called.     The  result  of  all 
these  circumstances  was  a  tender  exhibition  of  regard 
from  the  clergy  variously  manifested,  but  as  his  friends 
know,  deeply  appreciated  by  the  Bishop,  and  so  kindly 
a  feeling  pervaded   the  Diocese,  that  for  years  action 
on  all  important  matters,  both  in  Convention  and  in 
the  Standing  Committee,  has  been  by  general  consent 
and  not  after  close  divisions. 

Expressions  of  this  feeling  by  the  Convention  have 
been  numerous.  In  1878  a  most  affectionate  minute 
was  adopted,  expressing  the  feeling  of  the  Convention 
in  reference  to  the  proposed  absence  of  the  Bishop. 


I 


52 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


53 


In  1 88 1  a  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  by  a 
rising  vote,  congratulating  the  Bishop  on  reaching 
the  fortieth  year  of  his  Episcopate,  attesting  his  fidel- 
ity, kindness  and  impartiality  in  all  his  official  rela- 
tions, and  warm  hopes  for  his  continued  life  and 
vigor  of  body  and  mind. 

At  the  same  Convention,  his  course  in  relation  to 
the  ecclesiastical  troubles  in  the  Diocese,  before  re- 
ferred  to,  and  his  action  thereupon  was  endorsed  by 
the  Convention.  In  1884  the  Convention  met  soon 
after  the  death  of  Bishop  Smith,  and,  while  the 
Bishop  was  out  of  the  chair,  having  gone  at  the  en- 
treaty of  friends,  but  much  against  his  will,  to  take 
a  short  rest  from  the  labors  of  a  very  fatiguing  day, 
a  resolution  was  adopted  congratulating  him  upon 
having  lived  to  reach  his  new  and  exalted  position. 
When  the  Bishop  returned  to  the  church  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  members  standing,  and  the  action  of 
the  Convention  made  known  to  him.  Having  had 
no  knowledge  of  what  was  going  on,  he  was  deeply 
affected,  and  responded  with  difficulty  to  the  senti- 
ments expressed  in  the  resolution. 

The  feeling  of  Bishop  Lee's  venerable  and  distin- 
guished colleagues  was  expressed  in  a  remarkable 
manner  at  the  last  session  of  the  House  of  Bishops. 
He  had  entered  upon  the  forty-sixth  year  of  his 
Episcopate  during  the  session,  and  the  anniversary 
was  made  the  occasion  of  a  fitting  testimonial  of  affec- 
tion, which  is  thus  recorded  upon  the  journal  of  the 
House : 

The  Bishop  of  Kansas  offered  the  following  resolution,  viz, ; 


Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  House  offer  their  sin- 
cere congratulations  to  their  President,  the  Presiding  Bishop 
of  this  Church,  that  he  has  been  spared  in  the  good  provi- 
dence of  God,  to  enter,  on  this  day,  the  forty-sixth  year  of 
his  Episcopate ;  that  in  this  fact  we  acknowledge  the  merciful 
dealings  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  ;  that  we  hereby 
assure  our  venerable  father  in  God  that  our  prayers  ascend 
in  his  behalf,  that  God  may  still  grant  him  many  years  of 
continued  health  and  usefulness  in  the  discharge  of  the  sol- 
emn duties  committed  to  his  trust. 

Which  was  unanimously  adopted  by  a  rising  vote,  and 
subsequently,  on  motion  of  the  Bishop  of  Springfield,  ordered 
to  be  engrossed,  and  signed  by  all  the  Bishops,  and  presented 
to  the  Presiding  Bishop. 

The  Presiding  Bishop  made  acknowledgment  of  the  action 

of  the  House. 

The  engrossea  copy  bearing  the  autograph  signa- 
ture of  every  Bishop  has,  since  Bishop  Lee^s  return 
home  last  fall,  adorned  the  walls  of  his  study. 

Both  spiritually  and  mentally,  the  Bishop^  s  char- 
acteristic was  vitality.  He  lived  to  God  in  the  noble 
warmth  of  the  inner  spiritual  life;  he  lived  men- 
tally, digesting  the  thoughts  of  the  wise,  keeping 
pace  with  the  discoveries  of  the  learned  ;  he  lived  in 
delicate  thoughtful  courtesies,  in  kindliest  considera- 
tion to  all  about  him,  in  prayers,  sympathies  and 
counsel  to  the  people  of  his  charge,  the  clergy  of  the 
Diocese,  the  Church  over  which,  for  the  last  years 
of  his  life,  he  was  Chief  Shepherd. 

Physically  also,  he  was  full  of  vitality.  Energy, 
endurance,  robust  individuality,  reserved  force  and 
bidden  fire  found  their  counterparts  in  a  slender  frame 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


5S 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


which  looked  too  frail  to  withstand  the  ordinary  wear 
of  life  for  many,  if  any  years  beyond  its  prime. 

No  personal  consideration  stood  in  the  way  of  what 
he  deemed  duty.  In  vain  those  who  stood  nearest 
and  valued  his  services  most  dearly,  begged  him  to 
refrain  from  every  unnecessary  effort  and  labor ;  in 
vain  it  was  urged  that  continued  life  alone,  with  its 
insensible,  irrepressible  influences,  was  more  important 
than  any  active  ministrations  which,  priceless  as  they 
were,  ought  never  to  be  given  at  the  slightest  risk  to 
what  could  never  be  replaced.  He  would  not,  for 
the  sake  of  his  own  ease  or  comfort,  abate  in  the 
slightest  degree  his  personal  attention  to  the  work  of 
his  life;  so  that,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine,  there 
was  the  same  careful  and  conscientious  performance  of 
every  duty  as  at  the  age  of  forty-nine. 

Bishop  Lee  was  married  April  23d,  1832,  to  Miss 
Julia  White,  the  daughter  of  Elihu  White,  formerly 
of  Hartford,  Conn. ,  but  afterwards  of  New  York  City. 
Mrs.  Lee  was  of  an  old  Connecticut  family,  and  was 
herself  a  woman  of  most  estimable  character  and 
fine  social  attainments.  She  is  still  very  affectionately 
remembered  in  Wilmington  for  her  warm  co-operation 
in  many  works  of  charity  and  mercy,  as  well  as  for 
her  cheerful  temperament,  and  a  disposition  which 
was  like  a  ray  of  sunshine  wherever  she  went  She 
died  November  29th,   1868.^* 


"  Mrs.  Lee,  on  her  mother's  side,  was  a  granddaughter  of  John 
TrambuU,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecticut,  the  Revo- 
lutionary poet  and  patriot,  whose  political  satire  "McFingal,"  corn- 


There  were  born  of  this  marriage  eight  children, 
four  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  three  are 
now  living,  two  sons,  Benjamin,  a  practicing  physi- 
cian  of  Philadelphia,  and  Alfred,  a  member  of  the 
bar  of  the  same  city,  and  one  daughter,  the  widow 
of  the  Rev.  Charles  E.  Mcllvaine.^^  Three  grand- 
children,  also  grandchildren  of  the  late  Bishop  Mcll- 
vaine,  have  long  brightened  the  Bishop^s  home. 


posed  at  the  request  of  Congress,  was  considered  very  serviceable 
to  the  American  cause.  Colonel  John  Trumbull,  the  artist,  at  one 
time  on  Washington's  staff,  was  his  cousin,  from  the  prominence 
of  whose  father  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  this  country  ob- 
tained its  sobriquet  of  "Brother  Jonathan." 

i»The  loss  of  the  Bishop's  second  child,  Leighton,  in  1853,  and 
of  his  daughter  Julia,  in  1870,  were  very  keenly  felt  by  him  The 
former,  a  promising  boy  of  fifteen,  died  after  a  short  illness, 
while  attending  school  at  the  Episcopal  Academy  m  Philadelphia. 
A  memorial  address  to  St.  Andrew's  Sunday-school,  published  soon 
after  attests  alike  the  father's  sorrow  and  his  Christian  faith  and 
hope'  The  little  volume  also  contains  the  following  verses,  Uie 
only*  ones  written  by  Bishop  Lee,  known  to  have  been  printed 
They  were  written  during  a  wakeful  night,  immediately  subsequent 
to  his  bereavement. 

I*.  L. 

Lovely  in  death !    The  seal  of  heaven 

Is  on  that  marble  brow ; 
Where  once  the  signet-cross  was  traced 

Is  holy  triumph  now. 

In  sweet,  unmoved  serenity. 

Those  peaceful  features  lie ; 
No  trace  of  pain,  or  care,  or  fear, 

Or  quivering  agony. 


56 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


57 


Bishop  Lee  died  at  his  home,  **Ingleside,"  after  a 
protracted  illness,  of  typhoid  fever.  Although  his  con- 
dition  had  been  very  critical  during  the  month  pre- 
vious to  his  death,  his  symptoms  had  shown  some 
improvement  in  the  last  week,  and  the  end  came  quite 
suddenly.  His  physician.  Dr.  Bullock,  had  visited  the 
patient  in  the  morning  and    again  at  noon,   and  he 


Fain  would  we  rescue  from  the  grave 

This  image,  pale  and  dear; 
'Tis  but  the  image  of  thyself— 

Thy  spirit  is  not  here. 

There's  that  impressed  upon  thy  face, 

That  bids  not  think  of  earth, 
But  calls  our  hearts  and  faith  away 

To  thy  celestial  birth. 

Thou'rt  in  His  arms,  whom  thy  young  heart 

Believed  in  and  adored, — 
The  Saviour  true,  the  Shepherd  kind, 

The  smitten  Lamb — the  Lord. 

And  when,  with  all  his  saints  he  comes 

His  jewels  to  collect, 
Thy  radiant  form  shall  shine  among 

The  ransomed  and  elect 

The  eyes  now  closed,  shall  glisten  then 

With  purest  joys  of  heaven ; 
The  lips  now  mute,  shall  then  unite 

In  songs  of  the  forgiven. 

And  we  shall  meet— with  rapture  meet— 

His  praises  to  proclaim, 
Who  saved  us  by  His  precious  blood, 

And  made  us  one  again. 


seemed  at  the  last  visit  slightly  better  than  at  the  same 
time  the  day  previous.  Soon  after  the  noon  hour, 
however,  he  was  seized  with  a  sinking  spell,  and  his 
attendants  clearly  foresaw  the  near  approach  of  dis- 
solution. Messages  were  immediately  sent  to  his 
sons,  who  were  in  Philadelphia,  apprising  them  of 
their  father's  condition,  but  the  end  had  come  before 
they  could  return.  The  Bishop's  daughter,  her  sister- 
in-law,  and  his  faithful  nurse  were  the  only  ones  with 
him  when  he  breathed  his  last.  Gradually  he  sank 
away,  and  death  came  peacefully,  quietly  and  without 
pain. 

A  short  time  before  the  close,  his  daughter  began 
to  recite  the  twenty-third  Psalm,  **The  Lord  is 
my  shepherd,  I  shall  not  want,'*  but,  seeing  the 
end  to  be  very  near,  paused  and  asked  her  companion 
to  read  the  commendatory  prayer.  The  last  stanza 
of  the  335th  hymn,  **  Abide  with  Me,"  and  the  97th 
hymn,  **It  is  not  death  to  die,"  were  then  repeated. 
A  moment  later  he  opened  his  eyes  with  an  expres- 
sion of  most  serene  restful  ness,  and,  after  a  long, 
earnest  look  upward,  closed  them  and  expired. 

The  illness  of  the  Bishop  covered  a  period  of  nearly 
four  months.  He  first  called  his  family  physician 
about  the  middle  of  January,  from  which  time  he  re- 
quired almost  daily  medical  attendance  for  nearly  a 
month,  when  he  went  to  Old  Point  Comfort  to  try  to 
regain  his  strength.  After  a  two-weeks'  stay  at  that 
place  he  returned  home,  on  March  ist.  The  last 
time  he  was  in  church,  being  the  Sunday  previous, 
he  attended  service  at  the  post-chapel  in  the  fort,  and 


y 


58 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


59 


heard  a  sennon  by  Bishop  Paret,  of  Maryland.  Shortly 
after  his  return  he  took  cold  and  suffered  a  relapse, 
and  his  illness  developed  all  the  symptoms  of  typhoid 
fever.  For  more  than  a  month  his  condition  had  been 
most  alarming,  and  there  was  scarcely  a  hope  that  he 
could  recover.  A  week  before  his  death,  there  seemed 
to  be  a  slight  improvement,  but  this  could  only  be 
observed  for  a  day  or  two,  and  it  was  clearly  foreseen 
that  the  end  was  near. 

.During  his   illness   the   Bishop   was   conscious,    ex- 
cepting at  short  intervals,  and  at  times  his  mind  seemed 
as  vigorous  as  usual.     He  dictated  replies  to  some  of  the 
letters  of  inquiry  as  to  his  health  from  his  many  dear 
friends,    and   frequently  discussed    the    affairs    of    his 
diocese  with  those  nearest  him,  though  with  difficulty, 
in  broken  utterances  and  often  in  a  whisper.      The 
welfare  of  the  Church  and  his  people  were  matters  of 
contemplation  on    his  death-bed,   almost    to  the    last 
moment  of  his  life.     To  near  friends  who  called  and 
inquired  after  his  health,    the    Bishop  at   times  sent 
affectionate  messages.     The  love  of  his  people  found 
expression    in    many  ways,    and    they   hoped    against 
hope  that  the  beloved  Bishop  would  be  spared  to  them. 
On  Saturday,  not  long  before  his  death,  at  the  close 
of  a  conversation  respecting  the  Easter  offering,  with 
Rev.  Mr.  Murray,  who  had  called  to  inquire  for  him 
and  spent  a  few  moments  by  his  bedside,  the  Bishop 
said,  **I  wish  you  to  give  my  love  to  my  dear  people, 
and    to    thank    them    for    their    prayers    and    loving 
wishes   in  my  behalf."     And   on  Easter   Sunday  he 
sent   to   Mr.    Murray   the   following  request,— *' After 


the  communion  service  I  wish  you  would  use,  as  my 
Easter  greeting  to  my  beloved  people,  the  benedic- 
tion, *  The  God  of  peace  who  brought  again  from  the 
dead  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  great  Shepherd  of  the 
sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant ; 
make  you  perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do  His  will, 
working  in  you  that  which  is  well  pleasing  in  His 
sight;  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  glory  for- 
ever and  ever.     Amen.*  ** 


I 


ii 


n 


\  • 


I 


On  the  morning  of  Friday,  April  i6th,  after  a 
brief  service  at  his  home,  conducted  by  the  Rev. 
Charles  E.  Murray,  the  remains  of  Bishop  Lee  were 
removed  to  St.  Andrew's  Church,  and  placed  in  front 
of  the  chancel,  until  the  hour  appointed  for  the  last 
solemn  service.  A  committee  of  the  clergy  of  the 
diocese,  consisting  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Littell  and 
the  Reverend  Messrs.  Murray,  Gibson,  Smith,  La- 
trobe,  Henry,  Gordon,  Higgins,  Wootten  and  Light- 
ner,  robed  in  surplices,  were  in  attendance  as  a  guard 

of  honor. 

A  large  concourse  of  the  citizens  of  Wilmington 
availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  to 
take  a  last  look  at  the  loved  and  venerated  Bishop. 

The   funeral   services  were   held   at  the   church  at 

two  o'clock  P.  M. 

Of  the  House  of  Bishops  there  were  present : 

The  Right  Reverend  John  Williams,  Bishop  of 
Connecticut,  the  Presiding  Bishop. 

The  Right  Reverend  Ozi  William  WhiTAKER, 
Assistant  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  Right  Reverend  M.  A.  De  Wolfe  Howe, 
Bishop  of  Central  Pennsylvania. 

The  Right  Reverend  John  Scarborough,  Bishop 

of  New  Jersey. 
The  Right  Reverend  George  W.  Peterkin,  Bishop 

of  West  Virginia. 

63 


1 


64 


FUNERAIv  SERVICES. 


The  Right  Reverend  Henry  C.  Potter,  Bishop 
of  New  York. 

The  Right  Reverend  Wiluam  D.  Walker,  Mis- 
sionary Bishop  of  North  Dakota. 

The  Right  Reverend  Wiluam  J.  Boone,  Mission- 
ary Bishop  of  Shanghai. 

The  Right  Reverend  William  Paret,  Bishop  of 
Maryland. 

Of  the  clergy  there  were  present : — 
The  Reverend  W.  Tatlock,  D.D.,   Secretary  of  the 
House  of  Bishops. 

The  Reverend  Joshua  Kimber,  Associate  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Missions. 
The  Reverend  T.  Gardiner  Littell,  D.D., 

Charles  E.  Murray, 

H.  Ashton  Henry, 

Jesse  Higgins, 

Benjamin  H.  Latrobe, 

Dudley  D.  Smith, 

Charles  Breck,  D.D., 

P.  B.  Lightner, 

Lewis  W.  Gibson, 

George  M.  Bond, 

Edward  Owen, 

Joseph  Beers, 

William  C.  Starr, 

Lewis  H.  Jackson, 

James  C.  Kerr, 

George  W.  Johnson, 

E*  R.  Armstrong, 


11 


if 


€C 


IC 


if 


CI 


IC 


II 


II 


IC 


IC 


IC 


II 


CI 


IC 


It 


FUNERAL  SERVICES. 

The  Reverend  Edward  Wootten, 

"  "         A.  A.  Benton,  and 

Mr.  Edward  Henry  Eckel,  candidate  for  Orders, 

Of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware. 

The  Reverend  Richard  Newton,  D.D., 

John  A.  Childs,  D.D., 
Robert  A.  Edwards, 
William  M.  Jefferis, 
Joseph  R.  Moore, 
George  A.  Latimer, 
Wm.  White  Bronson, 
George  F.  Bugbee, 
W.  H.  Graff, 
Robert  C.  Matlack,  D.D., 
Benjamin  J.  Douglass, 
D.  S.  Miller,  D.D., 
Alfred  Elwyn, 
Gideon  J.  Burton, 
Daniel  M.  Bates, 
James  Walker, 
John  B.  Clemson,  D.D., 
George  C.  Moore, 
Henry  Brown, 
Addison  B.  Atkins,  D.D., 
Charles  D.  Cooper,  D.D.,  and 
Samuel  F.  Hotchkin, 

Of  the  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  Reverend  William  Schouler,  and 
"  **         Enoch  K.  Miller, 

Of  the  Diocese  of  Easton. 


65 


I  ( 


66  FUNERAL  SERVICES. 

The  Reverend  Julius  E.  Grammer,  D.D.,  and 
"  "         Robert  H.  Paine, 

Of  the  Diocese  of  Maryland. 

The  Reverend  Cyrus  F.  Knight,  D.D.,  and 
**  *'         David  Howard, 

Of  the  Diocese  of  Central  Pennsylvania. 

The  Reverend  John  Brainard,  D.D., 

Of  the  Diocese  of  Central  New  York. 

The  Reverend  J.  Leigh  ton  McKim,  and 
"  **        J.  M.   Harding, 

Of  the  Diocese  of  New  Jersey. 

The  Rev.  George  A.  Strong, 

Of  the  Diocese  of  Massachusetts. 

The  lay  members  of  the  Standing  Committee, 
Messrs.  S.  M.  Curtis  and  Horace  Burr,  M.D.,  and 
a  committee  of  the  Vestry  of  St.  Andrew's  Church, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  J.  H.  Hoffecker,  Jr.,  George  W. 
Baker,  Alfred  S.  Elliot  and  Willard  Thomson  were 
the  pall-bearers. 

Before  the  procession  entered  the  church,  there  was 
an  organ  solo,  **I  Know  that  my  Redeemer  Liveth,'' 
from  HandePs  ** Messiah.''  The  Presiding  Bishop 
read  the  sentences.  The  anthem  was  chanted.  The 
lesson  was  read  by  the  Bishop  of  New  York,  after 
which  the  97th  hymn  was  sung.  The  Bishop  of  New 
Jersey  read  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Board  of 
Missions.^ 

"These  resolutions  will  be  found  under  the  head,  "Minutes  and 
Resolutions.*' 


FUN^RAI,  SERVICES. 


67 


f 


. 


I 


The  Bishop  of  Central  Pennsylvania  then  addressed 
the  congregation  as  follows : 

*^I  have  been  reluctant  to  waken  the  echoes  of  a 
place  which  for  more  than  forty  years  has  resounded 
with  utterances  of  wisdom  and  grace  from  lips  that 
shall  speak  no  more. 

**  Only  since  my  arrival  in  this  city,  two  hours  ago, 
have  I  received  an  intimation  that  anything  more 
than  the  simple  service  of  the  Church  would  be  ex- 
pected on  this  occasion.  I  stand  appalled  by  the 
request  that  I  attempt,  in  this  sudden  and  impromptu 
way,  to  render  my  tribute  of  love  and  reverence  to 
a  character  so  broad  and  so  perfectly  rounded  as  his 
whose  removal  we  mourn  to-day.  But  my  devotion 
to  the  sacred  memory  of  the  departed,  and  my  sym- 
pathy with  those  specially  bereft  by  his  demise,  forbid 
me  to  refuse. 

**  Perhaps  this  duty  has  been  assigned  to  me  partly 
because  in  age  I  follow  next  to  him  who  was,  till 
now,  the  Senior  in  our  House  of  Bishops  ;  and  partly 
because  in  the  providence  of  God,  since  his  advance- 
ment to  the  Episcopate,  I  have  been  thrown  into  inti- 
mate personal  relations  to  him.  I  am  probably  the 
only  clergyman  in  this  assemblage  who  saw  him  set 
apart  to  his  high  Office,  in  October,  1841,  my  vener- 
ated Father  in  God,  Bishop  Griswold,  acting  as  the 
Consecrator.  The  picture  of  that  scene  is  very  vividly 
before  my  memory.  His  youthful  head  bowed  to  re- 
ceive the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  those  white- 
haired  Patriarchs  (Bishops  Moore,  of  Virginia,  and 
Chase,   of   Illinois,   among  them)  who  were   grouped 


I': 


68 


FUNERAL  SERVICES. 


around  him  ;  and  Dr.  Wainwriglit,  afterwards  Bishop 
of  New  York,  standing  behind  him  holding  high  the 
open  page  of  the  Ordinal  that  the  Presiding  Bishop 
might  see  and  recite  the  words  of  the  Apostolic  Com- 
mission. He  who  a  week  ago  was  the  Senior  among 
his  Brethren,  when  he  took  his  seat  among  them 
forty-five  years  ago  was  the  youngest  of  them  all. 
Indeed,  he  was  only  three  years  past  the  age  at 
which,  under  the  traditional  usage  of  the  Church 
Catholic,  one  is  admissible  to  the  Episcopal  Office. 

**His  experience  in  Parochial  life  had  then  been 
Quite  limited.  He  had  been  Rector  for  three  years 
of  a  small  rural  Parish,  at  Rockdale,  Pennsylvania, 
just  on  the  borders  of  Delaware.  Into  its  work  he 
had  entered  with  conscientious  diligence  and  youthful 
zeal.  His  success  as  a  Shepherd  of  souls  became 
known  to  his  Clerical  Brethren  in  the  adjoining  State. 
And  the  thought  of  securing  him  as  its  first  Bishop 
probably  hastened  the  organization  of  Delaware  as  a 
separate  jurisdiction.  A  smaller  number  of  Clergymen 
and  Laymen  than  would  be  competent,  under  the 
present  terms  of  the  Constitution,  to  elect  a  Bishop, 
formed  the  Convention  which  made  choice  of  the 
Reverend  Alfred  Lee.  In  1846  I  became  Rector  of 
St.  Luke's  Church,  Philadelphia,  and  found  there 
among  my  dearest  friends  and  Parishioners,  a  beloved 
family  who  had  been  most  intimately  associated  with 
Mr.  Lee  in  his  little  niral  Parish.  At  their  fireside 
I  first  learned  his  great  personal  worth,  and  meeting 
him  frequently,  was  privileged  to  enter  upon  a  mutual 
friendship  which    has    matured    through    forty  years, 


FUNERAIy  SERVICES. 


69 


and  is  destined,  I  trust,  to  live  forever.     Out  of  the 
depths  of  that  love  and  reverence  I  speak  of  him  to- 

dav. 

"Although  the  young  Bishop  had,  before  his  eleva- 
tion, a  brief  experience  in  pastoral  care,  his  training 
in  other  respects  had  given  him  some  eminent  qualifi- 
cations for  the  Episcopal  Office.  His  scholastic  educa- 
tion had  been  received  at  the  foremost  University  of 
the  land.  And  after  his  graduation  he  had  pursued 
the  study  of  law,  and  entered  on  its  practice.  This 
gave  to  his  philosophic  and  judicial  mind  the  sort 
of  discipline  required  to  develop  its  powers  and  to 
fit  him  for  the  executive  duties  of  his  office.  Having 
such  a  constitution  of  mind,  equipped  as  it  was  with 
the  learning  appropriate  to  his  chosen  profession,  he 
had  the  road  to  eminent  success  wide  open  before 
him.  But  that  was  not  the  path  on  which  He  who 
holds  the  lines  of  destiny  in  His  hand  intended  him 
to  go.  He  was  constrained  by  an  Unseen  Power 
which  he  dared  not  gainsay  nor  resist,  to  receive 
and  transmit  the  Gospel  errand,  and  he  began  its 
proclamation  in  an  humble  sphere  and  before  simple 
folk.  What  his  hand  found  to  do  he  did  with  his 
might.  With  cheerful  spirit  he  took  his  place  in  the 
lowest  room  until  the  Master  came  and  said,  **  Friend, 
go  up  higher.''  Precious  lessons  were  learned  in  that 
novitiate  of  his  ministerial  life — the  ways  of  success- 
ful approach  to  the  human  heart — the  power  of  the 
unvarnished  story  of  Christ  crucified — the  sympathy 
due  to  the  lowly  minister  who  finds  little  to  comfort 
him   in  his  work  save  in  the  consciousness  of  duty 


I  H 


\ 


,,fc.—  - .--  ■ 


.'  -^  •  t. 


. , .  ,->,<,->  •-,, 


I 


^ 


It 


70 


FUNERAL  SERVICES. 


performed,  and  the  hope  that  his  brother-men  are  the 
better  in  their  condition  and  destiny  through  his  influ- 


ence. 


(( 


Bishop  Lee  was  a  man  of  definite  theological  views 
and  strong  convictions.  As  he  had  received  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord,  so  he  walked  in  Him  through  his  long 
career.  The  principles  of  the  English  Reformation  he 
accepted  and  maintained.  And  while  he  was  tolerant 
of  such  diversity  of  opinion  as  the  Catholic  standards 
of  our  Church  allow,  he  was  brave  in  his  office,  as  a 
keeper  and  champion  of  the  truth,  to  rebuke  any  revi- 
val among  us  of  those  pestilent  doctrines  and  practices 
for  the  avoidance  of  which  our  Fathers  abjured  alli- 
ance with  the  Church  of  Rome.  I  recall  an  instance, 
which  occurred  so  many  years  ago  that  none  will  be 
wounded  now  by  my  reference  to  it,  wherein  a  sermon 
was  preached  in  the  presence  of  the  Bishop  and  his 
Clergy,  the  teachings  of  which  were  in  known  antag- 
onism to  his.  As  soon  as  the  discourse  was  closed, 
the  Bishop  rose  in  the  Chancel,  and  with  the  utmost 
calmness  and  kindliness  of  language  and  manner,  yet 
with  a  logical  conciseness  and  force  which  he  could 
not  have  surpassed  had  he  attempted  the  task  in  his 
own  study,  with  ample  time  for  deliberate  thought, 
he  dissected  and  refuted  the  argument,  which  he 
accounted  mischievous.  Few  men  would  have  had 
the  courage  to  attempt  so  difficult  and  painful  an  act; 
none  could  have  done  it  more  gently.  I  have  never 
known  a  character  in  which  there  was  so  much  force 
veiled  under  the  aspect  of  such  unaffected  humility. 
His  official  elevation  only  made  more  conspicuous  his 


^ 


FUNERAI,  SERVICES. 


71 


innate  modesty.  There  was  no  Lordship  in  his  de- 
portment either  in  republican  America  or  when  the 
title  was  applied  to  him  while  sojourning  in  England. 
In  his  relations  to  his  Clergy  he  breathed  the  q)irit 
of  a  Father  rather  than  of  a  Ruler. 

*'In  the  House  of  Bishops,  the  Senate  of  our 
Ecclesiastical  Congress,  Bishop  Lee  has  been  a  recog- 
nized power  through  all  the  years  of  his  connection 
with  it ;  and  his  influence  has  constantly  increased 
as  time  advanced  him  at  length  to  the  primacy 
among  his  Brethren.  As  presiding  officer  of  the 
House  of  Bishops  (in  which  capacity  he  frequently 
acted  before  and  since  the  departure  of  his  aged  pre- 
decessor) he  manifested  always  the  analytical  power 
of  his  mind,  discerning  accurately  the  points  at  issue, 
familiar  with  the  proper  methods  of  procedure,  and 
in  the  final  statement  of  the  question  setting  aside 
irrelevant  and  confusing  matter  foisted  into  the  debate, 
he  made  it,  by  his  lucid  presentation  of  the  naked 
subject,  easy  for  his  brethren  to  determine  their  own 
positions,  and  to  reach  at  last  concurrent  and  wise 
conclusions. 

''He  represented  a  school  of  thought  in  our  min- 
istry whose  relative  strength  of  numbers  may  not  now 
be  as  great  as  once  it  was,  but  which  constitutes  an 
element  of  great  value  in  the  make-up  of  our  char- 
acter and  power  as  a  religious  body.  His  known 
devotion  to  Evangelical  truth,  no  less  than  his  calm 
thoughtfulness  and  his  terse  and  forceful  modes  of 
expression,  always  commanded  the  respectful  attention 
of  his  Brethren.     And  in  accordance  with  his  sugges- 


i, 


r 


i».j:    I-*,  <- 


■"  •-.*, 


72 


FUNERAI,  SERVICES. 


tions,  measures  which  he  did  not  originate  have  been 
modified  and  made  beneficent,  which  otherwise  had 
been  one-sided,  if  not  calamitous.  What  position  the 
class  of  theologians  to  which  he  belonged  is  to  hold 
in  the  future  of  this  Church  it  is  not  easy  to  prog- 
nosticate. In  the  history  of  religion,  we  find  that 
cycles  of  thought  have  succeeded  each  other — the  spir- 
itual and  the  external  coming  into  alternate  predomi- 
nance in  successive  periods — neither,  through  God^s 
grace,  ever  wholly  supplanting  the  other.  This  type 
of  Church  life,  we  may  well  hope,  will  never  become 
extinct  It  constitutes  an  element  needed  to  maintain 
our  legitimate  balance  and  influence  as  a  distinctive 
branch  of  the  Church  Catholic  of  Christ — to  win  the 
confidence  of  the  Christian  Bodies  by  whom  we  are 
surrounded,  and  to  attract  to  our  Communion  those 
who  have  heretofore  been  hostile  or  indifferent  to  our 
claims.  No  more  worthy  and  judicious  and  influential 
exponent  of  the  religion  of  the  English  Reformers 
has  filled  the  office  of  a  Bishop  in  the  American 
Church  than  the  venerated  father  whose  loss  we  mourn 
to-day. 

'*  Bishop  Lee  was  an  admirable  Preacher  and  Pastor. 
This  Parish,  which  hardly  had  a  name  to  live  at  his 
accession,  now  strong  in  numbers  and  in  all  the 
tokens  of  spiritual  vigor,  is  the  witness  to  his  fidelity 
and  power.  *  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,'  old  in 
its  cardinal  simplicity  and  perpetual  preciouspess,  yet 
new  in  its  ever-varying  illustration,  and  in  learned 
exposition  of  its  significance  and  of  its  transfonning 
energy,   was  the  constant  theme.      And    here  it  has 


II 


FUNERAL  SERVICES. 


73 


proved,  as  of  old,  *  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom 
of  God  unto  salvation.' 

**To  profound  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
(he  was  one  of  the  American  Commission  on  the  late 
revision  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments)  the  Bishop 
added  a  complete  mastery  of  the  English  language. 
Its  resources  of  expression  were  all  at  his  command. 

**Few  writers  possess  more  of  the  power  of  vigorous 
and  graceful  expression  than  he.  Had  his  vocal  abil- 
ity been  commensurate  with  his  intellectual,  he  would 
have  gained  celebrity  as  one  of  the  foremost  orators 
of  the  Pulpit.  His  sermons,  when  committed  to  the 
press,  will  take  high  rank  as  specimens  of  vigorous 
and  graceful  composition. 

"But  our  dear  friend  possessed  a  higher  grace, 
which  was  neither  innate  with  his  mental  faculties, 
nor  acquired  with  the  learning  of  the  schools.  He 
was  an  eminently  holy  man,  made  so  by  the  gift 
and  in-dwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost— not  merely  the 
empowering  grace  of  his  Apostleship,  but  the  personal 
consecration  of  body,  soul  and  spirit  to  the  faith  and 
love  and  obedience  of  Christ.  In  that  Divine  assimi- 
lation to  the  man  Christ  Jesus  was,  after  all,  *the 
hiding  of  his  power.'  That  drew  into  filial  fellow- 
ship with  him  this  goodly  array  of  white-robed  Priests 
who  now  minister  in  places  which  he  found  desolate. 
That  empowered  him  to  gather  and  to  hold  through 
a  generation  this  flock  of  earnest  Christian  people  who 
have  hung  upon  his  lips  for  instruction  and  walked 
in  the  light  of  his  example.  That  made  his  home- 
life  in  this  city  a  benediction,  and  has  called  out  its 


*  I 

M 


I . 


H 


.  ^ 


74 


FUNERAI,  SERVICES. 


people  of  every  creed  and  name  this  day  to  do  honor 
to  his  memory.  That  character,  associated  in  every 
mind  with  his  personality,  and  tracing  its  gentle  ex- 
pression on  his  countenance,  made  his  presence  on 
these  streets  an  every-day  sermon.  That  sanctified 
soul  passing  from  duty  to  rest— from  probation  to 
glory— left  the  light  of  its  in-dwelling  on  those  placid 
features,  imparting  to  them,  even  in  death,  an  un- 
wonted beauty — the  witness  of  present  peace,  the  pre- 
sage and  dawn  of  an  immortal  life. 

"How  happy  was  his  lot  in  that,  although  he 
reached  the  extreme  milestone  of  man's  earthly  pil- 
grimage, he  suflfered  no  dull  decay !  He  did  not 
linger  on  the  stage  of  life  in  weary  imbecility  till  the 
reverence  of  his  fellow-men  had  dwindled  into  pity, 
but  was  in  the  full  exercise  of  his  powers,  and  the 
entire  sway  of  his  influence,  when  mortal  sickness  laid 
him  low.  *His  eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his  natural 
force  abated,'  when  God  hid  him  in  the  mountain  of 
His  Holiness.  Let  me  die  the  death  of  this  righteous 
man,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his  !'' 

The  335th  Hymn  was  sung,  and  the  Bishop  of  West 
Virginia  read  the  closing  prayers.  The  anthem,'  '*De 
Profundis,''  was  chanted  by  the  choir,  and  the  benedic- 
tion was  pronounced  by  the  Presiding  Bishop. 

The  remains  were  interred  in  the  family  lot  in  the 
graveyard  of  Holy  Trinity  (Old  Swedes^  Church,  the 
service  at  the  grave  being  read  by  the  Presiding 
Bishop,  the  Bishop  of  West  Virginia  and  the  Reverend 
Lewis  W.  Gibson,  President  of  the  Standing  Commit- 
tee  of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware. 


A    SERMON 

PREACHED  IN  ST.  ANDREW'S  CHURCH,  WILMINGTON,  DEL., 

JUNE  2,  1887. 


BY 


The  Right  Rev.  John  Williams,  S.  T.  D.,  LI,.D., 

Bishop  of  Connecticut  and  Presiding  Bishop. 


This  sermon  was  preached  upon  the  joint  invitation  of 
THE  Standing  Committee  of  the  Diocese  and  the  Vestry  of 
St.  Andrew's  Church,  the  day  having  been  appointed  with 

A  VIEW  OF  ENABUNG  THE  ATTENDANCE  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  DIO- 
CESAN Convention  which  was  to  be  in  session  on  that  day 
AT  Newark.     Accordingly,  the   Convention   adjourned  to 

ATTEND  THE  MEMORIAI,  SERVICE.. 


\  y 


i 


Por  he  was  a  good  man^  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  of  faith ;  and  much  people  was  added  unto  the 
Lord, — Acts  xi.  24.^ 

There  is  something  peculiarly  attractive  in  the 
character  of  Barnabas  as  it  is  presented  to  us  in  scat- 
tered notices  in  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles.  Those 
notices,  indeed,  give  us  no  more  than  outlines,  touches 
here  and  there,  but  these  are  of  rare  beauty  and  in- 
,  terest,  and  open  out  to  us  wide  and  profitable  fields 
of  meditation. 

He  stands  prominently  out  in  the  history  of  the  first 
fresh,  blooming  life  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  a  leader 
in  its  ministry  to  the  poor  and  suffering ;  then  we  see 
him  taking  by  the  hand,  Saul,  the  lately  converted, — 
on  whom  the  brethren  looked  with  suspicious  fear, 
not  believing  that  he  was  a  disciple, — and  bringing 
him  to  the  Apostles ;  later  on,  he  appears  seeking 
Saul,  then  living  in  obscurity  in  Tarsus,  and  leading 
him  to  Antioch  where  he  himself  had  held  the  fore- 
most place  which  now  he  was  to  yield  to  another ; 
and  finally,  this  generosity,  this  large-heartedness, 
this  modest  estimation  of  himself,  this  spirit  of  the 
tniest  self-sacrifice,   are  all   summed   up  in   the  words 

**  Before  he  began  the  sermon,  the  preacher  caUed  attention  to 
the  fact  that,  without  design  or  conference,  the  same  text  had  been 
selected  by  himself  and  by  the  Reverend  brother,  who  had  preached 
before  the  late  Convention  of  the  Diocese. 

77 


>  \ 


\f 


i 


78 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


**he  was  a  good  man,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of 
faith."  Nor  are  we  left  in  doubt  as  to  what  was 
accomplished  by  such  an  one  for  his  Lord  and  Master ; 
for  it  is  immediately  said,  **and  much  people  was 
added  unto  the  Lord." 

Such  a  character  as  is  here  revealed  to  us,  may  not 
strike  one  especially  at  the  first  sight.  But  it  has  a 
quality  in  its  make-up  which  is  far  better  and  far 
nobler  than  any  such  power  of  immediate  impression. 
It  bears  the  ordeal  of  intimate  knowledge.  It  stands 
the  test  of  continuous  acquaintance.  The  better  it  is 
known,  the  greater  is  the  reverence  felt  for  it.  The 
closer  the  contact  with  it,  the  more  it  is  honored  and 
the  stronger  does  its  attractive  power  become.  It 
conquers  by  its  own  inherent  and  imparted  strength, 
and  not  by  any  adventitious  circumstances  of  sur- 
roundings or  position.  It  has  *'salt  in  itself."  It 
carries  out  and  fills  out  the  words  of  the  Royal 
Preacher,  **The  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining 
light,  which  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect 
day." 

My  dear  Brethren,  when  I  first  read  the  unexpected 
message  which  carried  sorrow  to  so  many  hearts  and 
homes,  the  words  which  told  us  that  your  beloved 
and  venerated  Bishop  was  no  longer  upon  earth,  for 
that  God  had  taken  him,  the  first  words  that  came 
to  my  mind  were  those  which  have  been  read  to 
you  in  the  text.  And  when  I  received  the  invitation 
with  which  I  was  honored  to  preach  the  Memorial 
Sermon — a  duty  which  many  others  would  discharge 
far  better  than  I  can  hope  to — it  seemed  to  me  that 


BISHOP  WILIvIAMS. 


79 


no  words  would  more  fittingly  recall  the  character, 
the  life  and  the  work  of  our  late  honored  Presiding 
Bishop. 

He  was  bom  at  a  time  when  our  Church  in  these 
United  States  was  reaching  its  lowest  point  of  depres- 
sion and,  as  it  seemed  to  many,  hopelessness.  That 
point  was  not  touched,  as  is  not  infrequently  supposed, 
at  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  At  that 
period  there  were  many  who  remained  faithful  to  the 
Order,  Doctrine  and  Worship  in  which  they  had  been 
trained.  But  as  the  years  rolled  by  and  these  passed 
away,  few  came  to  fill  the  places  they  had  left,  and 
decrease  rather  than  increase  seemed  to  be  the  inevita- 
ble law.  At  the  same  time  death  and  infirmity  were 
weakening  the  ranks  of  the  Episcopate  ;  so  that,  in 
181 1,  grave  anxiety  was  felt  whether  it  might  not 
become  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  good  offices 
of  the  Mother  Church  to  continue  the  succession  in 
these  United  States.  In  the  providence  of  God  the 
necessity  did  not  arise.  From  the  day  when  Bishop 
Hobart  was  consecrated  for  New  York  and  Bishop 
Griswold  for  the  Eastern  Diocese,  a  new  era  of  life 
and  growth  began,  and  the  **days  of  mourning  were 
ended. ' ' 

Coincidently  with  this  reviving  life,  there  came, 
almost  of  necessity,  an  awakening  of  Missionary  zeal, 
a  deepened  conviction  of  the  duty  of  the  Church  to 
strive,  with  all  the  might  that  man  can  have  and  God 
can  give,  for  the  glory  of  His  holy  Name  and  the 
extension  of  His  blessed  Kingdom.  This  duty  had, 
indeed,  been  early  recognized  by  the  great  Council  of 


«. , 


^(1 


Bo 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


the  Church  ^  but  it  could  hardly  be  made  practical 
while  it  seemed  doubtful  whether  **the  things  which 
remained,  that  seemed  ready  to  die,''  could  be  so 
strengthened  as  really  to  live.  Nor  was  it  till  the 
year  1835  that  the  Church  rose  to  the  full  ideal  of 
duty  in  this  regard,  and  declared  that  she  herself  was 
her  own  Missionary  Society,  and  that  all  her  members 
were  its  members  also.  Some  of  us  can  recall  to- 
day, the  thrill  of  astonished  joy  with  which  this 
declaration  was  received,  and  the  warm  interest  with 
which  we  watched  the  progress  of  our  first  great  Mis- 
sionary Bishop,  as  he  took  his  lonely  way  towards 
the  then  distant  regions  of  the  vast  Northwest. 

It  was  two  years  later,  namely,  in  1837 — so  the 
record  reads— that  Alfred  Lee  was  ordained  to  the  Diac- 
onate,  by  my  honored  predecessor,  in  Christ  Church, 
Norwich,  in  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut.  He  came  to 
his  ordination  and  received  his  first  commission  in  the 
Church  of  God,  in  the  ripeness  of  a  manhood  that  was 
early  ripe,  when  **he  began  to  be  about  thirty  years 
of  age." 

Entering  the  ministry,  then,  as  he  did,  at  a  period 
of  awakening  conviction  as  to  what  our  Divine  Lord 
meant  when  He  said  **That  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  should  be  preached  in  His  Name  among  all 
nations,''  no  wonder  that  his  spirit — already  prepared 
by  the  grace  of  God— should  **have  caught  the  sacred 
flame  ;"  no  wonder,  when  we  remember  the  character 
of  the  man,  so  free  from  those  passing  currents 
**  which  move  light  spirits  lightly,"  so  true  and  stead- 
fast— no  wonder  that  the  flame  burned  bright  within 


^' 


BISHOP  WILUAMS. 


81 


him  till  the  end  of  life !  It  could  not  have  been 
otherwise. 

Nor  do  I  count  this  too  light  a  thing  to  be  placed 
at  the  forefront  in  speaking  of  the  characteristics  of  a 
Christian  Bishop.  If  the  Lord's  human  soul  was 
'•straitened"  till  the  veil  was  rent,  and  men  might 
have  ''boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood 
of  Jesus  ;"  if  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  counted 
"not  his  life  dear  to  himself,"  so  that  he  might  preach 
to  those  Gentiles  "the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ," 
what  better  thing  can  be  said  of  any  Bishop  than 
that,  though  he  mav  not  be  called  to  what  we  term 
the  missionary  field,  the  missionary  spirit  is  still  living 
in  his  soul  and  animating  his  life?  It  was  in  this 
spirit  that  my  brother  twice  undertook  laborious  and 
toilsome  journeys — one  to  Haiti  and  another  to  Mex- 
ico—journeys from  which  his  own  especial  duties 
might  reasonably  have  withheld  him  and  with  no 
man  to  fault  him  for  it,  so  that  he  might  help  on 
the  work  always  so  near  his  heart. 

A  few  months  of  service  in  a  secluded  rural  parish 
in  Connecticut,  and  a  few  years  of  pastoral  charge  in 
another  quiet  parish  in  Pennsylvania  followed,  and 
then  your  late  Bishop  was  called  to  the  Episcopate, 
at  the  early  age  of  thirty-four.  Yet,  though  his  min- 
isterial life  had  been  so  brief,  he  was  "not  a  novice." 

Gifted  with  strong  natural  powers  of  mind,  which 
he  may  almost  seem  to  have  inherited,  those  powers 
were  trained  and  moulded  by  what  used  to  be  called 
a  liberal  education,  and  by  the  legal  studies  and  prac- 
tice to  which  he  gave  himself  for  the  five  years  pre- 
6 


f 


0» 


k 


(I 

J 


:f 


$2  MEMORIAL  SERMON. 

f 

ceding  his  admission  as  a  candidate  for  Holy  Orders. 
I  do  not  believe  that  his  legal  training  gave  him  that 
judicial  cast  of  mind  for  which  he  was  so  distinguished  ; 
but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  did  much  to 
strengthen  and  complete  it.  It  was  one  of  his  most 
striking  mental  characteristics.  No  man  could  ever 
converse  with  him,  for  however  brief  a  period  and  on 
whatever  topic,  and  not  be  struck  with  it.  Calmly 
and  clearly  his  decisions  and  the  reasons  for  them 
were  stated,  in  language  **  drawn  from  the  wells  of 
English  undefiled  ;**  and  even  those  to  whom  they 
did  not  carry  conviction,  always  listened  to  them 
with  respect  and  advantage.  I  am  confident  that 
every  one  of  his  brethren  in  the  Episcopate  will  con- 
firm what  I  say,  and  I  speak  from  an  observation  of 
six-and-thirty  years.  With  all  his  decision,  however, 
and  he  was  a  man  of  decision — tenax  propositi — there 
was  not  in  him  an  iota  of  arrogance  or  assumption. 
No  man  can  bear  fuller  testimony  to  his  modest  esti- 
mation of  the  results  of  his  own  reasonings,  and  the 
more  than  fairness,  the  thorough  courtesy,  with  which 
he  was  ready  to  consider  the  thoughts  of  others,  than 
I  can.  For  several  years  I  sustained  a  relation  to 
him  which  none  other  did,  as  his*  assessor.  And  I 
should  do  violence  to  every  feeling  of  my  heart,  did  I 
not  tell  you,  that  the  only  disquiet  I  ever  had  occa- 
sion to  feel,  was  when  his  unfailing  courtesy  led  him 
to  submit  for  counsel  conclusions,  so  well  wrought  out 
and  stated  so  judicially,  that  there  really  was  no  room 
for  a  question  to  be  raised  about  them.  Pardon  me, 
dear  Brethren,  this  one  personal  mention.     The  lips 


BISHOP  WILLIAMS. 


83 


must  speak,  sometimes,    "out  of  the  fullness  of  the 
heart. »' 

What  course  of  thought,  what  experiences  of  life, 
what  convictions  of  duty,  above  all,  what  immediate 
promptings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  led  your  late  Bishop 
to  abandon  a  profession  in  which  he  was  sure  to 
attain  to  eminence,  I  know  not.  It  may  be  doubted 
if  any  one  does  know.  God  leads  men  to  the  minis- 
try in  His  Church  in  many  ways.  But  whatever  was 
the  way  in  this  case,  no  man  can  doubt  that  anxious 
thought,  conscientious  deliberation,  and  deep  and  ear- 
nest prayer  brought  Alfred  Lee  to  his  decision ; 
and  as  we  look  back  on  that  lengthened  ministry, 
the  half  century  of  which  a  few  months  more  would 
have  rounded,  we  may  well  bless  Him  who  ordereth 
every  human  life,  for  that  inward  moving  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  gave  the  Church  such  a  Parish  Priest 
and  such  a  Chief  Pastor  of  the  flock  of  Christ. 

Need  I  speak  to  you  of  his  Episcopate  of  more  than 
twice  a  score  of  years?  Its  visible  fruits  are  all 
around  you  in  the  seven  clergy  of  1841,  increased  to 
the  thirty-five  of  1887  ;  in  the  four  parishes  multiplied 
into  the  thirty-five  parishes  and  missions ;  in  the 
three  hundred  and  eighty-nine  communicants,  now 
become,  by  a  nearly  tenfold  increase,  two  thousand 
four  hundred.  Nay,  beloved,  **ye  yourselves  are  his 
epistle,  written  in  his  heart,  known  and  read  of  all 
men.**  No  stranger  can  undertake  to  tell  you  what 
you  yourselves  know  better,  far  better,  than  he  can. 
But  I  speak  only  of  visible  results  ;  and  how  little, 
how  very  little,  of  the  work  of  a  faithful  pastor  do 


1  f 


I 


k 


84 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


'      \ 


I! 


/P 


they  exhibit !  How  much,  how  very  much,  there  is 
which  only  he  and  the  Blessed  Trinity  can  know, 
greater,  better,  nobler  than  anything  that  mortal  eyes 
can  see  !  How  much  of  that  solemn,  touching  charge 
which  is  given  to  a  bishop  at  his  consecration — 
**Hold  up  the  weak,  heal  the  sick,  bind  up  the 
broken,  bring  again  the  outcasts,  seek  the  lost''— how 
much  of  this  is  done  in  secret,  lives  and  bears  fruit 
in  secret ;  and  so  the  work  and  its  fruitage  are  both 
unknown  of  men.  What  the  world  does  not  see  with 
the  passing  glance,  which  is  all  its  hurrying  life  has 
to  give  to  anything,  it  sees  not  at  all,  and,  therefore, 
counts  as  unreal.  But  as  in  the  natural,  so  in  the 
spiritual  world,  those  unseen  forces  are  the  most  real 
of  all  forces,  and  their  fruit  is  the  most  real  of  all 
fruit.  The  yearly  returning  spring-tide  annually  attests 
this  for  the  world  of  nature.  The  great,  eternal  spring- 
tide of  the  resurrection  will  attest  it  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Grace  and  Glory.  With  these  few  words  I  dismiss 
this  part  of  my  subject  here ;  since  reference  must  be 
made  to  it  again. 

"Give  heed  unto  reading"  are  the  first  words  of 
the  exhortation  to  a  bishop  after  his  ordination.  No 
doubt  the  words  have  special  reference  to  Holy  Scrip- 
ture ;  but  they  must  also,  as  undoubtedly,  include  all 
"such  studies  as  help  to  the  knowledge  of  the  same." 

Says  pious  George  Herbert : 

•*  They  say  it  is  an  ill  mason  that  refuses  any  stone ;  and 
there  is  no  knowledge,  but,  in  a  skillful  hand,  serves  either 
positively  as  it  is,  or  else  to  illustrate  some  other  knowl- 
edge." 


\i 


BISHOP  WIIvLIAMS. 


85 


But  mere  knowledge,  the  mere  heaping  up  of  informa- 
tion, makes  no  scholar  and  least  of  all  a  Christian  scholar. 

**  Knowledge  dwells  in  minds  replete  with  thoughts  of  other  men. 
Wisdom  in  minds  attentive  to  their  own. 
Knowledge,  a  rude  unprofitable  mass, 
The  mere  material  with  which  wisdom  builds. 
Till  smoothed  and  squared  and  fitted  to  its  place, 
Does  but  encumber  where  it  seems  t* enrich. 
Knowledge  is  proud  that  she  has  learned  so  much, 
Wisdom  is  humble  that  she  knows  no  more.'* 

I  cannot  but  think  that  these  words  describe  exactly 
the  characteristics  of  Bishop  Lee's  scholarship.  It  was 
thorough,  and  because  it  was  thorough  it  was  modest 
and  retiring.  And  more  than  all  the  rest  that  can  be 
said,  it  always  turned  toward  and  centered  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures. 

Lord  Bacon,  in  his  new  Atlantis,  gives  an  allegory 
of  exceeding  beauty  which  I  shall  venture  to  quote. 
Some  time  after  our  Lord's  Ascension,  he  says,  there 
was  seen  on  an  island,  near  the  city  of  Bensalem,  a 
gleaming  pillar  of  light  marked  with  a  glittering 
cross.  The  inhabitants  attempted  to  reach  the  island 
in  their  boats.  As  they  drew  near,  the  boats  were 
stopped,  and  it  was  not  until  they  had  prayed  to  God, 
that  they  could  proceed.  As  they  advanced,  the  pillar 
dissolved  into  unnumbered  stars,  and  beneath  the 
place  where  it  had  stood,  and  over  which  the  stars 
still  shone,  they  found  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

It  was  an  allegory  of  the  truest  and  highest  human 
learning.  Compacted  into  the  gleaming  pillar  in  all  its 
manifold  lines  and  portions,  and  consecrated  by  the  im- 


I 


t ' 
v 
n 


'< 


86 


MEMORIAI,  SERMON. 


press  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  its  stars  of  glory  could 
only  be  reached  by  prayer  to  God,  and  they  all  shed 
back  their  light  upon  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  Was  it  not 
even  so,  beloved,  with  your  late  Bishop's  many-sided 
learning?  Did  it  not  carry  him  back  to,  and  find  its 
ultimate  end  and  rest  in,  the  Oracles  of  God?  Let 
its  published  results,  and  especially  his  last  and  swan- 
like utterance,  answer. 

These  thoughts  lead  naturally  to  speak  of  **  exhor- 
tation and  doctrine,"  to  which  a  bishop  is  charged  to 
give  heed  as  well  as  to  ** reading''  to  which,  indeed, 
his  reading  is  to  be  subsidiary.  The  school  to  which 
he  belonged  had  nothing  in  common  with  that  mod- 
ern, destructive  school  which  sometimes  claims  to  rep- 
resent it  Of  this  older  school  it  has  been  lately  said, 
by  one  who  does  not  belong  to  it,  that  they  who  com- 
posed it,  *4o  a  man,  professed  that  they  taught 
nothing,  and  desired  nothing,  but  the  plain  doctrine 
of  the  Church  of  England.  They  found  the  best  expres- 
sion of  their  wants  in  her  deeply  spiritual  liturgy; 
they  valued  her  articles  and  her  homilies  as  the  full- 
est and  most  lucid  expositions  of  their  own  belief; 
and*  they  strongly  opposed  attempts  to  alter  or  relax 
the  obligation  of  her  ministers  to  subscribe  to  all  her 
formularies." 

To  this  school  my  deceased  brother  gave  all  along 
his  adherence ;  an  adherence  everywhere  and  at  all 
times  frankly  and  openly  avowed.  For  his  was  a 
nature  to  which  all  concealments  and  subterfuges 
were  abhorrent.  This  position,  deliberately  taken  and 
manfully  retained,   brought  with   it,   as   a  matter  of 


BISHOP  WILWAMS. 


87 


course,  differences  and  sometimes  misunderstandings 
with  those  with  whom,  in  many  other  things,  and 
those  things  essentials,  he  had  no  disagreement,  but 
it  certainly  could  never  be  justly  said  of  him  that 
because  of  his  conviction,  he 

— narrowed  his  mind, 
And  to  party  gave  up  what  was  meant  for  mankind. 

One  who  belongs  to  a  different  school,  and  who 
was  privileged,  more  than  once,  to  discuss  differences 
with  him,  may  be  permitted  to  speak  distinctly  on 
this  point.  He  never  gave  a  half-hearted  and  palter- 
ing allegiance  to  the  Church  of  which  he  was  a  Chief" 
Pastor. 

Nor  had  he — I  have  alluded  to  this  before,  but  it 
cannot  be  out  of  place  to  speak  of  it  again, — nor  had 
he  the  smallest  sympathy  with  lines  of  thought  and 
speculation  which,  retaining  the  Christian  terminology 
it  may  be,  eviscerate  its  meaning  and  its  power,  and 
end  by  dethroning  it  from  its  true  position  as  the  one 
final  revelation  of  Almighty  God,  and  degrading  it  to 
a  place  as  one  among  the  religions  of  the  world. 
Who  would  have  rebuked  more  sternly  than  he  would, 
the  practical  denial  of  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of 
God,  by  making  Him  '4n  whom  dwelt  all  the  ful- 
ness of  the  Godhead  bodily,"  merely  the  ideal  man 
to  be  praised  and  lauded  it  may  be,  but  only  that ;  or 
the  denial  of  the  power  of  the  one  sacrifice  for  sin,  by 
stripping  it  of  its  character  as  a  true  and  real  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  men  ;  or  the  denial  of  the  infec- 
tion of  our  nature  and  its  awful  outcomes  in  actual 


1 


?: 


I 


i' 


^ 


«  1 


\^ 


88 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


sin,  by  making  it  a  disease,  mental  or  physical,  to 
be  cured  by  the  application  of  the  gentlest  palliatives ; 
or  the  denial  of  the  personal  indwelling  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  church  and  in  the  individual,  by  making 
it  no  more  than  a  mere  indefinite  influence ;  or  the 
destruction  of  the  living  church  of  God,  by  denying 
to  it  the  ministry  of  Christ  and  the  stewardship  of  the 
mysteries  of  God?  You  who  have  in  all  his  years  of 
service  listened  to  his  instructions  in  this  holy  place 
need  not  that  any  man  should  answer  these  questions 
for  you. 

And  this  doctrine,  those  great  truths  that  have  been 
touched  on,  were  not  with  him  abstractions,  specula- 
tions, **  idols  of  the  den,"  to  be  played  with  and 
tossed  about  in  dialectic  sport  or  even  earnest ;  they 
entered  into  his  life,  they  shaped  his  character,  they 
made  him  what  he  was.  For,  indeed,  as  Jeremy 
Taylor  nobly  said,  **  Theology  is  rather  a  Divine  life 
than  a  Divine  knowledge." 

Let  me  speak,  my  Brethren,  of  one  thing  more,  and 
I  will  weary  you  no  longer.  To  one  who  came  hither 
on  the  day  when  we  committed  all  that  was  mortal 
of  your  late  Bishop  to  the  earth,  nothing  could  be 
more  touching  and  impressive  than  the  way  in  which 
the  poor  and  destitute  and  suffering,  they  on  whose 
earthly  life  there  shine  few  rays  of  cheering,  came  to 
look  once  more  on  the  friend  who  was  taken  from 
them.  It  was,  in  very  deed,  the  crowning  glory  of 
his  life  of  labor.  Not  the  gathering  of  his  brethren, 
his  clergy  or  his  people,  not  the  solemn  service  nor 
the  loving  words  of  eulogy  bore  such  a  witness  as 


BISHOP  WILLIAMS. 


89 


that  gathering.  Do  you  wonder  at  these  words? 
Does  it  seem  strange  that  they  should  be  reserved 
to  be  the  last  and  the  best  words  I  have  to  speak? 
Then  remember  that  when  our  Blessed  Lord  made 
answer  to  the  disciples  of  John  Baptist  when  they 
asked  Him,  **Art  thou  He  that  should  come,  or  do 
we  look  for  another;"  He  crowned  His  answer  with 
the  words,  **to  the  poor  the  gospel  is  preached." 
Not  all  His  own  miracles  of  mercy  and  of  might  had 
such  significance  as  this  great  truth.  None  of  what 
are  called  to-day  **the  great  religions  of  the  world," 
had  thoughts  or  words  for  men  like  these.  They  give 
a  key-note  to  the  gospel  of  Christ  that  wakes  an  echo 
in  every  heart.  They  tell  of  One  as  merciful  as  He 
is  mighty,  who  is  not  ashamed  to  call  us  all  His 
brethren.  Remember,  too,  that  in  exact  accordance 
with  the  framing  of  this  wonderful  declaration  of  our 
Lord,  after  all  other  questions  have  been  asked  of  one 
who  comes  to  receive  the  gift  of  the  Episcopate  ;  after 
the  mention  of  all  that  relates  to  official  and  personal 
duty  and  life,  the  final  question,  that  which  crowns 
them  all,  is  this:  **Will  you  show  yourself  gentle, 
and  be  merciful,  for  Christ's  sake,  to  poor  and  needy 
people,  and  to  all  strangers  destitute  of  help?"  What 
an  echo  is  this  of  the  words  of  Christ ;  He,  making 
the  climax  of  His  great  works  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  to  the  poor ;  thus,  leaving  on  the  heart  of  one 
to  whom  in  its  apostolic  fulness  is  about  to  be  given 
the  chief  ambassadorship  of  Christ,  leaving,  I  say,  on 
his  heart  as  its  latest  thought  of  duty  and  of  life,  care 
like  his  Master  for  the  poor,  the  needy  and  the  destitute ! 


\ 


_    / 


90 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


Yes:  Beloved,  I  count  the  making  real,  in  our 
earthly  life,  such  words  as  those  of  Christ,  the  carry- 
ing out,  in  our  earthly  life,  of  such  a  promise  and  vow 
so  made,  the  final  proof  of  faithfulness,  devotion,  yea, 
of  that  love  which  **is  the  fulfilling  of  the  Law.'' 
And  what  a  witness  that  such  a  life  had  been  lived 
and  such  a  promise  had  been  well  fulfilled,  was  given 
by  those  sorrowing  ones  to  whom  my  brother  in 
Christ  had  ministered  so  gently,  and  so  mercifully, 
in  all  his  pastoral  life!  The  words  may  not  have 
been  spoken  by  mortal  lips  or  heard  by  mortal  ears, 
but  did  there  not  seem  to  come  to  us  from  some  far 
ofi"  region  of  peace  and  rest,  a  voice  which  said,  **  in- 
asmuch as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these 
my  brethren,  ye  did  it  unto  me?" 

My  Brethren,  none  can  feel  more  keenly  than  I  do 
how  much  has  been  left  unsaid  that  might  well  have 
been  said ;  how  far  short  of  what  this  occasion  de- 
mands, that  which  has  been  said  has  fallen.  I  have 
spoken  of  the  man,  the  scholar,  the  theologian,  the 
bishop— and  in  all  these  aspects  of  his  life  you  will 
bear  your  late  Father  in  God  your  testimony  that  he 
fulfilled  the  more  than  counsel,  the  great  command, 
**  moreover  it  is  required  in  stewards  that  a  man  be 
found  faithful."  And  this  he  was;  faithful  to  him- 
self  and  to  the  talents  and  opportunities  which  his 
Heavenly  Father  gave  him  ;  faithful  to  the  duties 
of  the  high  office  entrusted  to  him  ;  faithful  to  those 
over  whom  the  Lord  had  placed  him  ;  faithful  in  life 
and  **  faithful  unto  death."  Therefore  we  bless  God 
for  his  life  and   good  example,   we  thank  God  that 


BISHOP  WILLIAMS. 


91 


he  is  still  one  with  us  in  **the  communion  of  saints ;" 
and  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  of  him,  here,  '*  where 
he  ministered  to  the  Lord,"  and  in  the  Presence 
before  which  we  shall  all  one  day  stand  ;  **for  he  was 
a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith, 
and  much  people  was  added  unto  the  Lord." 


« 


Hll 


V 

1 


ii 


;i 


A   SERMON 

DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  CONVENTION  OF  THE  DIOCESE 

OF  DELAWARE,  IN  ST.  THOMAS'  CHURCH, 

NEWARK,  JUNE  i,  1887. 


i| 


* 
*     f 


i 


\  r 


BY 


Rev.  Charles  E.  Murray, 

Rector  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Wilmington,  Del. 


' 


IH 


( 

II 


I   i 


^^  He  was  a  good  man^  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  of  faithy — Acts  xi.  pt.  24  vs. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  express  the  varied  emotions, 
my  dear  brethren  of  the  clergy  and  laity,  with  which 
I  address  you  upon  this,  the  sad  and  solemn  occasion 
of  our  annual  gathering.  God  has  been  pleased  to 
call  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly  labors  to  his  rich 
reward  our  beloved  and  venerated  Father  in  God,  our 
first  and  only  Bishop,  who  for  forty-five  years  pre- 
sided over  the  Counsels  of  the  Church  in  this  Diocese. 
We  are  all  mourners  to-day.  We  are  all  made  to 
feel  our  dependence  upon  Him,  who  when  he  breaks 
the  strong  and  beautiful  rod  on  which  we  had  leaned, 
presents  Himself  as  the  only  support  and  refuge  of  His 
people  in  their  distress.  I  shall  attempt  no  eulogy : 
that  would  be  an  affront  to  one  whose  life  speaks 
more  eloquently  than  our  best  eloquence.  We  who 
knew  him  and  loved  him,  cannot  put  our  affection 
into  words  ;  it  would  be  distasteful  to  him  if  we  had 
any  other  feeling  than  that  of  gratitude  to  God  for 
a  life  course  of  nearly  eighty  years,  finished  from  its 
beginning  to  its  close  with  such  perfectness  and  har- 
mony. We  would  strengthen  our  own  faith,  and 
quicken  our  own  devotion,  in  the  remembrance  of  four 
score  years  now  gathered  into  the  ripened  sheaves. 

My  personal  friendship  with  Bishop  Lee  began  more 

95 


^\ 


^1^ 


J: 


!j 


I 


■H 


)\ 


i\ 


>, 


II 


J 


^^  He  was  a  good  man^  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  of  faithJ^^ — Acts  xi.  pt.  24  vs, 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  express  the  varied  emotions, 
my  dear  brethren  of  the  clergy  and  laity,  with  which 
I  address  you  upon  this,  the  sad  and  solemn  occasion 
of  our  annual  gathering.  God  has  been  pleased  to 
call  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly  labors  to  his  rich 
reward  our  beloved  and  venerated  Father  in  God,  our 
first  and  only  Bishop,  who  for  forty-five  years  pre- 
sided over  the  Counsels  of  the  Church  in  this  Diocese. 
We  are  all  mourners  to-day.  We  are  all  made  to 
feel  our  dependence  upon  Him,  who  when  he  breaks 
the  strong  and  beautiful  rod  on  which  we  had  leaned, 
presents  Himself  as  the  only  support  and  refuge  of  His 
people  in  their  distress.  I  shall  attempt  no  eulogy : 
that  would  be  an  affront  to  one  whose  life  speaks 
more  eloquently  than  our  best  eloquence.  We  who 
knew  him  and  loved  him,  cannot  put  our  affection 
into  words  ;  it  would  be  distasteful  to  him  if  we  had 
any  other  feeling  than  that  of  gratitude  to  God  for 
a  life  course  of  nearly  eighty  years,  finished  from  its 
beginning  to  its  close  with  such  perfectness  and  har- 
mony. We  would  strengthen  our  own  faith,  and 
quicken  our  own  devotion,  in  the  remembrance  of  four 
score  years  now  gathered  into  the  ripened  sheaves. 

My  personal  friendship  with  Bishop  Lee  began  more 

95 


I* 


it 


•  I 


I 

.  * 

II! 


• 


.' 


96 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


than  twenty  years  ago,  and  during  the  last  five  years 
I  have  been  associated  with  him  in  the  work  of  St. 
Andrew's  Church,  in  the  rectorship  of  which  forty-five 
years  out  of  the  fifty  years  (lacking  one  month)  of  his 
ministerial  life  were  spent  This  association  brought 
me  so  close  to  his  heart  that  I  shall  speak  of  him  as 
a  son  of  a  true  Father  in  God. 

Bishop  Lee  was  bom  on  the  9th  day  of  September, 
1807,  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.     He  graduated  from 
Harvard   College  in    1827.     ^e  studied  law  and  was 
admitted   to   the   bar   in   New   London,    Connecticut, 
where    he    practiced    his    profession    two    years.      He 
graduated    from    the   General    Theological    Seminar}^ 
New  York,   in   1837;  was  ordered  Deacon,   May  21, 
1837 ;    was    ordained    Priest,   June    12,    1838,    in    the 
thirty-first  year  of  his  age.     He  officiated  a  few  months 
in  St.  James'  Church,  Poquetanuck,  Connecticut.      In 
September,  1838,  he  became  Rector  of  Calvary  Church, 
Rockdale,  Pennsylvania;  here  he  remained  three  years 
until  his  elevation  to  the  Episcopate  in   1841.     Until 
that  year  the  State  of  Delaware  had  been  under  the 
care  of  the  Bishop  of   Pennsylvania.      At   the  Con- 
vention of   this    Diocese  which    met    at    Georgetown 
in  this  year  (1841)  steps  were  taken  to  complete  the 
organization  of  the  Diocese  by  the  election  of  a  Bishop. 
The    Rev.    Alfred    Lee,   Rector   of   Calvary    Church, 
Rockdale,    Pennsylvania,  was  nominated.     The  nomi- 
nation received  the  cordial  support  of  several  mem- 
bers, the  Rt.   Rev.   Bishop  Onderdonk  expressing  his 
hearty  previous  concurrence  in  the  proposition.     The 
vote  was  taken  by  orders  and  the  Rev.  Alfred  Lee 


.^ 


ii 


REV.   CHARLES  E.  MURRAY. 


97 


1  j 


received  the  unanimous  vote  both  of  the  Clerical  and 
Lay  Delegates,  and  was  declared  by  the  Chair  to  be 
duly  elected  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware.  The 
required  testimonials  were  drawn  up  and  signed  by 
the  members  of  the  Convention.  The  election  having 
taken  place  within  six  months  of  the  Session  of  the 
General  Convention,  it  came  before  that  body  for  con- 
firmation. The  General  Convention  met  in  St.  Paul's 
Church,  New  York,  October  6,  1841.  The  House  of 
Deputies  signed  the  testimonials  of  the  Bishop-elect  of 
Delaware  on  the  8th  of  October ;  on  the  same  day,  in 
the  House  of  Bishops,  it  was  resolved,  on  motion  of 
Bishop  Onderdonk,  of  Pennsylvania,  seconded  by  Bishop 
Whittingham,  of  Maryland,  **That  the  House  consent 
to  the  consecration  of  the  Rev.  Alfred  Lee  to  the  Epis- 
copate of  Delaware.''  The  following  Tuesday,  Octo- 
ber 12,  1841,  both  Houses  met  in  St.  Paul's  Church 
at  10  o'clock  A.  M.  **  Morning  Prayer  was  read  by 
the  Rev.  S.  W.  Presstman,  of  Delaware,  assisted  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Croswell,  of  Connecticut.  The  Ante- 
Communion  Service  was  begun  by  Bishop  Onderdonk, 
of  Pennsylvania,  the  Epistle  was  read  by  Bishop 
Chase,  of  Ohio,  and  the  Gospel  by  Bishop  Moore, 
of  Virginia.  The  Sermon  from  the  text,  i  Tim.  iv. 
16  vs.  :  *Take  heed  unto  thyself  and  unto  the  doc- 
trine, continue  in  them  :  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt 
both  save  thyself  and  them  that  hear  thee,'  was 
preached  by  Bishop  Mcllvaine,  of  Ohio.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware,  and  of  the 
House  of  Bishops,  and  of  the  House  of  Clerical  and 
Lay  Deputies,  were  read  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright 
7 


\\ 


•• 


\ 


i 


98 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


REV.  CHARLES  E.  MURRAY. 


99 


and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mead,  Secretaries,  respectively,  of 
the  two  Houses.  The  Litany  was  read  by  Bishop 
Brownell,  of  Connecticut.  The  questions  were  pro- 
pounded  to  the  Candidate  by  Bishop  Griswold  of  the 
Eastern  Diocese,  Presiding  Bishop,  who  consecrated 
the  Bishop-elect,  Bishops  Moore,  Chase,  Brownell  and 
Onderdonk,  of  Pennsylvania,  uniting  in  the  imposi- 
tion of  hands."  Bishop  Lee  took  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Bishops,  October  13,  1841,  making  the  num- 
ber of  members  twenty-one,  and  being  the  thirty- 
ei^^hth  in  succession  of  American  Bishops. 

And  here  let  me  allude,  in  a  parenthesis,  to  a  most 
touching  event  which  took  place  just  forty-five  years 
later,  October  13,  1886,  at  the  Session  of  the  House 
of  Bishops,  consisting  of  sixty-seven  members,  held  in 
the  city  of  Chicago.  Bishop  Vail,  of  Kansas,  offered 
the  following  resolution,  viz  : 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  house  offer  their  sin- 
cere congratulations  to  their  president,  the  Presiding  Bishop 
of  this  House,  that  he  has  been  spared  in  the  good  provi- 
dence of  God  to  enter,  on  this  day,  the  forty-sixth  year  of 
his  Episcopate  ;  that  in  this  fact  we  acknowledge  the  merciful 
dealings  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  ;  that  we  hereby 
assure^'our  venerable  Father  in  God,  that  our  prayers  ascend 
to  God  in  his  behalf,  that  God  may  still  grant  him  many 
years  of  continued  health  and  usefulness  in  the  discharge  of 
the  solemn  duties  committed  to  his  trust. 

This  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  by  a  stand- 
ing vote,  and,  subsequently,  on  motion  of  the  Bishop 
of  Springfield,  ordered  to  be  engrossed  and  signed  by 
all  the  Bishops  and  presented  to  the  Presiding  Bishop. 


But  to  return :  The  first  Convention  of  the  Church 
in  this  Diocese,  after  Bishop  Lee's  election  to  the 
Episcopate,  was  held  in  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Wil- 
mington, in  the  month  of  May,  1842.  In  his  address 
to  that  Convention,  the  fifty-second  annual  Conven- 
tion of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Diocese 
of  Delaware,  he  said  : 

"Brethren  of  the  Clergy  and  laity,  the  occasion  of  our 
present  meeting  is  one  of  more  than  ordinary  interest.  For 
myself,  it  would  augur  great  insensibility  when  called  to 
deliver  my  first  address  to  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese  over 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  me  overseer,  not  to  be 
deeply  affected  with  the  solemnity  and  the  responsibility  of 
my  new  duties.  And  I  cannot  err  in  supposing  that  the  com- 
plete organization  of  a  Diocese  which,  from  its  formation  more 
than  half  a  century  since,  has  been  without  a  Diocesan  of 
its  own  will  awaken  emotion  in  your  breasts,  and  that  you 
have  come  to  participate  in  our  present  Councils  with  aug_ 
mented  interest. 

**  Before  proceeding  to  the  consideration  of  the  usual  subjects 
of  an  Episcopal  address  some  preliminary  remarks  seem  appro- 
priate. The  want  of  the  superintendence  and  services  of  a 
Bishop  of  your  own,  has  been  supplied  as  far  as  circumstanes 
permitted,  by  the  kind  and  gratuitous  services  of  the  Bishops 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  particularly  of  the  former.  On 
the  part  of  Rt.  Rev.  H.  U.  Onderdonk,  especially,  has  the  aid 
needed  by  this  portion  of  the  church  been  most  cheerfully  and 
faithfully  rendered.  B3'  his  unwearied  industry  he  has  been 
enabled,  and  by  his  kindness  and  solicitude  for  the  welfare 
of  the  Church  disposed,  to  add  to  the  weighty  charge  of  his 
own  extensive  Diocese,  the  performance  of  Episcopal  duties  in 
this  State.  I  am  confident  that  you  will  all  unite  with  me 
in  expressing  our  sense  of  the  value  of  his  gratuitous  and 
willing  labors,  and  the  indebtedness  of  the  Diocese  to  his  long 


lOO 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


continued  care  and  oversight.  The  action  of  your  last  Con- 
vention held  at  Georgetown,  May,  1841,  placed  him  who  now 
addresses  you  in  a  most  trying  and  difficult  situation.  A  call, 
wholly  unexpected  from  a  portion  of  the  Church  to  which  he 
was  personally  a  stranger,  broke  in  upon  the  quiet  tenor  of 
parochial  engagements,  and  imposed  upon  him  the  necessity 
of  deciding  one  of  the  most  serious  and  important  questions 
which  can  be  presented  to  the  mind  of  a  minister  of  Christ. 
Before  venturing  to  determine  it,  it  seemed  incumbent  on  me 
to  visit  my  brethren  who  had  honored  me  with  such  a  mark 
of  their  confidence,  and  acquaint  myself  as  fully  as  possible 
with  the  condition  and  circumstances  of  the  Church  over 
which  I  was  invited  to  preside." 

After  alluding  to  the  exceedingly  depressed  condi- 
tion in  which  he  found  most  of  the  Churches  in  the 
Diocese,  he  continues, 

*•  The  result  of  my  observations  was  to  impress  very  deeply 
on  my  mind  the  wisdom  and  necessity  of  the  steps  which  the 
Convention  had  taken  in  the  election  of  a  Bishop ;  although 
I  could  not  but  regret  that  their  choice  had  not  fallen  upon 
some  one  more  experienced  and  better  qualified.    In  no  other 
course  did  there  appear  to  human  eye  any  prospect  for  the 
Church  in  the  two  lower  counties,  but  gradual  decay  and  not 
very   distant   extinction.     It   became    my   duty,  therefore,   to 
decide  between  personal  inclination,  the  comparative  comfort 
and   more  congenial   retirement  of  the   pastoral   charge,   and 
much  conscious  deficiency  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  higher 
claims  of  duty  to  the  Church  of  Christ  on  the  other.    This 
question  I    endeavored   to  meet   in  the  fear  of  God,   and   in 
view  of  the  great  account  hereafter  to  be  rendered.    Had  there 
been  a  single  dissenting  voice  in  my  election  I  should  have 
felt   myself  at    liberty,   although    grateful    for   the    preference 
manifested,  to  have  declined  the  unexpected  invitation.     But 
the  unanimity  of  the  call  given  to  me,  invested  it  with  a  ten- 


REV.   CHARLES  E.   MURRAY. 


lOI 


fold  weight.  I  shrank  from  the  responsibility  of  declining  a 
charge  which  the  hand  of  Providence  appeared  to  lay  upon 
me.  In  view,  therefore,  of  its  evident  burdens  and  cares,  and 
with  its  duties,  difficulties  and  discouragements  plainly  seen, 
and  convinced  more  deeply  than  any  other  can  be  of  my  in- 
sufficiency, I  have  felt  constrained  to  answer,  'Here  am  I, 
send  me.*  How  much  consideration,  forbearance  and  charita- 
ble construction  of  my  official  acts  will  be  called  for,  you 
can,  yourselves,  readily  judge." 

And  now,  to  come  to  the  Bishop's  relation  to  St. 
Andrew's  Church  ;  in  the  same  journal,  after  detailing 
the  results  of  his  visit  to  the  diflferent  portions  of  the 
Diocese,  he  writes  :  **  during  the  second  week  in  March 
I  returned  to  Wilmington,  where  I  have  since  resided, 
supplying  the  vacant  Church  of  St.  Andrew's  with 
regular  services,  and  officiating  as  often  as  circum- 
stances permitted  in  other  churches  of  the  vicinity." 
Again,  ''St.  Andrew's  Church,  Wilmington,  is  still 
without  a  settled  pastor ;  for  a  considerable  period, 
during  which  the  doors  of  the  Church  were  closed, 
the  Sunday-school  was  regularly  continued  with  a  per- 
severance and  energy  highly  creditable  to  those  en- 
trusted with  its  care,  and  the  present  condition  of 
the  congregation  appears  quite  encouraging."  In  the 
''Journal"  of  1843,  ^^^  Bishop,  in  his  address  to  the 
Convention,  says,  "In  addition  to  my  Episcopal  duties 
I  have  had  the  pastoral  charge  of  St.  Andrew's 
Church,  Wilmington,  since  the  first  of  August  last 
(1842).  This  I  was  induced  to  assume  by  the  urgent 
solicitation  of  the  vestry,  a  sense  of  duty  to  that 
church  and  to  myself,   and  the  entire   compatibility, 


'\ 


-f^'tar^ 


A. 


I02 


MEMORIAl,  SERMON. 


owing  to  the  small  extent  of  my  Diocese,  of  uniting 
the  care  of  a  congregation  with  a  more  than  ordi- 
nary amount  of  Episcopal  labor  in  all  the  parishes.'' 
And  in  the  same  ** Journal,''  in  closing  his  report 
as  Rector  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  he  says,— 
**This  Church  has  been  under  my  general  care 
since  the  last  Convention,  and  has  formed  my  par- 
ticular pastoral  charge  since  August  ist,  when  I 
accepted  an  invitation  of  the  vestry  requesting 
me    to    assume    the    duties    of   Rector    for    the   year 

ensuing." 

Thus,  you  will  observe,  that  of  the  fifty  years  of 
his  ministerial  life,  nearly  forty-five  have  been  spent 
as  Rector  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  and  forty-six  and 
a  half  as  Bishop  of  the  Diocese;  during  this  long 
period  of  his  rectorship  he  knew  no  other  end  than 
the  glory  of  God,  the  good  of  His  Church,  and  the 
well-being  of  the  people  committed  to  his  pastoral 
care :  For  him  to  live .  was  Christ ;  he  counted  all 
things  but  loss  that  he  might  win  Christ  and  be 
found  in  him  ;  the  life  of  Christ  was  his  pattern,  and 
you  know  how  richly  God  had  blessed  him  with 
Christ-like  virtues  and  graces  ;  the  fruits  of  a  faithful 
ministry  of  half  a  century  are  the  brilliant  retinue 
that  have  preceded  or  will  follow  him  to  the  Re- 
deemer's Throne.  I  love  to  think  of  that  long  pas- 
torate, loved  so  dearly,  and  filled  so  faithfully  and 
conscientiously  by  our  beloved  Bishop.  It  furnishes 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  pictures  of  human  influence 
sanctified  by  the  grace  of  God,  which  the  mind  of 
man  can  contemplate.     **It  is  friendship  lifted  above 


REV.   CHARLES  E.  MURRAY. 


103 


the  region  of  mere  feeling,  or  fondness  or  sentiment, 
above  all  thought  of  interest  or  convenience,  and 
exalted  into  the  mutual  helpfulness  of  the  children 
of  God.  The  pastor  is  the  father  and  brother  to 
those  whose  deepest  lives  he  helps  in  deepest  ways. 
Who  that  has  ever  known  such  a  pastorate  can 
believe  that  death,  which  sets  free  all  the  best  and 
purest  things  into  a  larger  spiritual  being,  ends  the 
relationship  of  soul  to  soul,  which  a  true  pastorship 
involves?  The  old  groups  of  forty  years  ago,  who 
worshipped  in  St.  Andrew's,  and  went  to  this  great 
soul  with  their  joys  and  their  sorrows,  their  faith 
and  their  doubts,  have  passed  or  are  fast  passing 
from  the  earth  ;  but  who  will  not  dare  to  hope  that 
somewhere,  somehow,  in  the  higher  life,  he  who 
once  taught  and  helped  and  encouraged  the  souls  of 
those  who  loved  and  trusted  him,  has  found  those 
souls  again,  and  is  with  them  forever  in  a  more 
perfect  communion  in  the  .many  mansions  of  our 
Father's  house,  before  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the 

Lamb." 

The  centre  of  the  whole  system  of  our  dear  Bishop's 
theology  was  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  as  manifest- 
ing the  love  of  God,  and  effecting  a  propitiation  for 
sin,  whereby  forgiveness  became  possible,  and  sinful 
man  obtained  a  new  position  in  the  sight  of  God. 
He  rested  with  implicit  faith  on  the  authority  of  the 
Word  of  God.  The  Old  and  the  New  Testament 
were  to  him  the  revelation  of  God,  making  known 
to  mankind  the  way  of  salvation.  In  his  charges, 
which  were  delivered  from  time  to  time  to  the  Con- 


\ 


I04 


MEMORIAL  SER^ION. 


ventions  of  the  Diocese,  we  have  his  views  set  forth 
on  some  of  the  most  important  questions  which 
occupied,  and  which  still  occupy,  the  mind  of  the 
Church,  with  a  clearness  and  emphasis  which  show 
that  he  regarded  them  as  of  the  most  vital  import- 
ance. I  should  like  very  much  to  read  to  you  some 
extracts  that  I  have  made  from  some  of  them,  but 
considerations  due  your  patience,  forbid.  I  do  not 
think  that  a  greater  or  more  timely  service  could 
be  rendered  to  the  cause  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,  than  the  re-publication  and  wide  dissemination 
of  these  inimitable  and  masterly  treatises  on  those 
important  subjects,— subjects  which  are  agitating  the 
Church    as    much    in   our    day    as    when    they   were 

delivered. 

I  cannot  but  crave  your  indulgence  for  transcribing 
a  passage  from  the  sixth  charge,  entitled  *'The  office 
of  tlie  Ministry  to  be  magnified,"  as  it  seems  to  me 
to  give  us  a  glimpse  into  the  inner  spiritual  life  of 
our  dear  Bishop. 

"To  be  fervent  and  impressive  in  the  promulgation  of  our 
message,  the  heart  must  glow  with  the  love  of  Christ,  and 
the  lips  be  touched  with  a  live  coal  from  the  altar ;  no  arti- 
ficial rules,  natural  gifts,  rhetorical  attainments,  will  compen- 
sate for  a  spiritual  mind.  Heaven-enkindled  zeal  and  single- 
ness of  eye.  And  we  must  not  complain  that  men  compare 
our  doctrines  with  our  lives,  and  look  to  us  for  an  exemplifi- 
cation of  our  principles.  In  this  respect,  society  is  somewhat 
exacting.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  hear  men  who  openly 
set  at  naught  the  demands  of  the  gospel,  strongly  condemning 
the  faults  and  failings  of  the  ministry.  Even  many  professed 
Christians  seem  to   forget  that  there  is  but  one  standard  of 


i 


REV.   CHARLES  E-   MURRAY. 


105 


holiness;    Met   every   one   that   nameth   the   name  of  Christ 
depart  from  iniquity.'     All  who  confess  the  faith  of  Christ  are 
a  'royal  priesthood,'   and  are  equally  bound   to  glorify  God 
with   their  bodies,   and  with  their  spirits,   which    are    God's. 
It  is  a  grent  mistake  for  private  Christians  to  suppose  them- 
selves at   liberty  to  mingle    in  scenes  where  they  would   be 
surprised  and  shocked  to   meet  their  pastor.     But  while  we 
expose   that  gross  error,  which    would  lay  down  a    different 
rule  of  holy   living   for  the   Shepherd   and  the   flock,    which 
would   have  the  goodness  of  the  priest  to  make  up  for  the 
deficiencies  of  the  people,  we  must  recognize  in  the  expecta- 
tion  of  consistent  and   blameless   conduct   in   their   spiritual 
guides,  an    additional   incentive  to   a  closer  walk  with  God. 
Let  us  aim  not  to  disappoint  this  feeling.     As  examples  to 
the  flock,  pastors  are  to  exhibit  the  power  of  living  Chris- 
tianity.    The  impression  that  the  ministers  of  the  Lord  are 
to  be  holy  in  all  manner  of  conversation,  is  in  one  aspect  a 
homage  paid  to  the  truth  and  glory  of  our  religion.     It  is 
reverenced  as  holy  and  divine,  and  therefore,  even  the  worid 
expects  to  see  its  mark  and  impress  upon  those  who  stand 
forth  as  its  witnesses  and  champions.    Truly,  then,  to  com- 
mend our  office  should  be  the  burden  of  our  life.    Daily  con- 
duct  is  to  tell  with  mightier  effect  than  even  public  duties. 
As  faith  grows,  usefulness  will  be  enlarged.     The  closet  is  to 
contribute  to  our  influence  as  certainly  as  the  pulpit.     The 
graces    of   the    Christian    character   will    magnify   the    office 
more  than  eloquence  or  learning.    The  brightest  lights  in  the 
past  history  of  our  Church  are  those  who  reflected  best  the 
Master's  image.     The  mind  that  was  in  Christ  Jesus,  shining 
forth  in  the  life,  will  be  the  mightiest  weapon  of  our  war- 
fare." 

At  the  last  Convention,  how  tender  were  the  con- 
cluding words  of  his  tenth  charge,  and  how  deeply 
moved  were  the  hearts  of  the  delegates  as  they  stood 
and  reverently  listened  to  them: 


[ 


\ 


,1 


\ 


\ 


^       ^. 


io6 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


<  / 


•*In  closing  what,  in  all  probability,  will  be  my  last  official 
utterance  of  this  kind,  I  desire  to  respond  earnestly  to  all  the 
manifestations  of  love  and  confidence  which  I  have  received 
from  my  brethren  of  the  Clergy  as  well  as  from  the  Laity  of 
this  Diocese.  The  Lord  reward  them,  as  I  cannot.  And  to 
you,  dear  brethren,  who  watch  for  souls,  in  the  words  of  the 
Apostle,  let  me  further  say,  I  charge  you  before  God  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead 
at  his  appearing  and  his  Kingdom  ;  preach  the  word,  be  in- 
stant in  season  and  out  of  season ;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort 
with  all  long-suffering  and  doctrine." 

And  then  he  concluded  this  last  charge  to  his 
clergy  with  the  Benediction,  which  contained  his  last 
message,  his  Easter  greeting  to  his  beloved  congre- 
gation. And  now,  '*the  God  of  Peace,  who  brought 
again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  great 
Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the 
everlasting  covenant,  make  you  perfect  in  every  good 
work  to  do  his  will,  working  in  you  that  which  is 
well-pleasing  in  his  sight,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to 
whom  be  glory  and   dominion  forever.     Amen." 

The  burden  of  all  his  preaching  was  to  show  man 
how  great  a  sinner  he  is,  and  how  great  a  Saviour 
he  has  in  Christ.  While  he  loved  to  dwell  on  these 
fundamental  truths  of  the  gospel,  he  did  not  restrict 
himself  to  these.  He  did  not  forbear  to  declare 
unto  men  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  whether  they 
would  hear  or  whether  they  would  forbear.  He  be- 
lieved that  every  truth  which  God  had  revealed,  He 
would  have  His  messengers  proclaim  in  His  sane- 
tuary.  He  was  firmly  convinced  that  **all  Scripture 
is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for 


r  •  - 


REV.  CHARLES  E.  MURRAY. 


107 


doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness,  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect, 
thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works."  When 
he  was  presenting  the  great  truths  of  the  gospel, 
there  was  that  decided  earnestness  in  his  manner 
which  could  not  but  impress  all  who  heard  him 
with  the  persuasion  that  he  was  giving  utterance  to 
abiding  convictions  of  which  he  was  as  assured  as 
of  his  own  existence.  He  knew  that  those  truths 
were  contained  in  and  could  be  proved  by  the  Word 
of  God  ;  that  they  were  embodied  in  the  Articles  of 
the  Church  in  which  he  labored  ;  truths  in  attesta- 
tion of  which  the  framers  of  those  Articles,  and  the 
Reformers  of  that  Church,  had  willingly  laid  down 
their  lives ;  truths  which  effectually  humble  the  proud 
heart  of  sinful  man,  and  give  to  God  the  honor  and 
praise  which  are  His  due  for  the  amazing  love  dis- 
played in  redemption ;  and,  therefore,  with  all  the 
authority  of  a  Heaven-appointed  and  Heaven-com- 
missioned ambassador  of  Christ,  he  proclaimed  them 
without  fear  or  favor.  With  the  most  uncompro- 
mising opposition  to  error  in  every  form,  he  yet 
manifested  an  affection  for  those  who  conscientiously 
differed  from  him  ;  and  this  spirit  of  gentleness  and 
charity  had  become  more  manifest  during  the  last 
years  of  his  life.  It  was  the  ripening  and  mellowing 
of  his  Christian  character,  the  growing  conformity  of 
his  spirit  to  the  image  of  Christ ;  and  in  perfect 
harmony  with  what  he  was  in  his  life,  was  the 
record  of  what  he  was  in  his  death.  No  one  who 
knew  him  would  have  expected  to  have  found  highly 


[ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


1 


(ii 


ir*-" 


1^ 


i 

I 


I 


/ 


io8 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


wrought  frames  or  feelings  connected  with  his  closing 
hours.  Peace  flowing  like  a  river,  the  calm  and 
assured  confidence  of  a  true  child  of  God,  possessed 
his  spirit;  his  soul  was  sweetly  sustained  by  those 
Heavenly  truths  which  it  had  been  the  joy  of  his 
life  to  proclaim  to  others;  his  patience  and  faith, 
if  translated  into  language,  would  have  found  ex- 
pression in  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  **I  am  now 
ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is 
at  hand  ;  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished 
my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith,  henceforth  there 
is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that 

day." 

It   has   pleased   God,    in    His  wise    providence,   to 
take  from  us  our  beloved  and  venerated  Bishop  when 
his  ripened  judgment,  his  large  and  varied  learning, 
his  broad  and  generous  charity,  were  so  much  needed 
in  the    councils    and    conduct  of  the  Church.      The 
wisdom  of  his   counsels,   the  sweetness  of  his  love, 
the  power  of  his  holiness,  how  can  they  be  supplied 
to  us?     The  Church  mourns  to-day  one  of  its  best 
and    noblest,    its    most    honored    and    most    revered 
Bishops.      In  Paradise,  he  lives  with  Christ  and  the 
faithful  departed  ;    in  his  example,  he  still  lives  with 
us  in  our  most  sacred  and  most  cherished  memories. 
While  we    mourn    the   loss  of   our  dear  Bishop,    we 
would  be  ungrateful  if  we  did  not  acknowledge  and 
adore  the    signal    goodness  of  a  most  wise    and  be- 
nignant Providence  in  sparing  him  so  long,  and  in 
permitting  him  to  see  the  peace  and  harmony  which 


REV.   CHARLES  E.   MURRAY. 


109 


characterized  his  Diocese,  and  the  devoted  attachment 
of  his  clergy  and  laity  to  him,  and  in  bestowing 
such  distinguished  honor  upon  him  throughout  the 
entire  Church.  We  are  also  grateful  to  our  Heavenly 
Father  that  he  was  not  enfeebled  by  age ;  that  his 
mental  powers  had  not  sustained  the  smallest  dimin- 
ution, and  that  thus,  not  in  the  midst  of  his  years, 
and  in  the  fulness  of  his  manly  vigor ;  not  when 
he  might  have  hoped  to  devote  himself  for  many 
years  to  the  cause  and  glory  of  the  Saviour ;  not 
when  his  plans  were  as  yet  immature ;  nor  yet,  on 
the  other  hand,  amidst  the  melancholy  reflections  of 
an  infirm  old  age ;  but  just  at  the  evening  hour, 
when  the  shadows  of  advancing  twilight  had  scarcely 
begun  to  deepen  upon  his  path,  he  has  passed  away 
from  the  toils  and  sorrows  of  earth,  to  the  rest  and 
the  bliss  of  Paradise.  He  had  attained  to  the  ripened 
experience  of  age  without  its  infirmities — to  its  ma- 
turity of  wisdom  without  its  sad  and  melancholy 
decline.  It  had  shed  its  calm  and  attractive  beauty 
around  him,  without  its  withering  and  blighting 
influences;  **its  serenity  was  in  his  features,  and 
its  crown  upon  his  brow,''  but  its  cold  hand  had 
not  chilled  the  glow  of  his  affections,  or  the  depth 
and  intensity  of  his  devotion.  It  looked  forth, 
indeed,  from  his  countenance,  and  imparted  to  it  a 
beauty  all  its  own,  but  it  had  not  as  yet  breathed 
upon  his  joys  and  hopes  and  affections,  to  blast  them 
in  their  freshness  and  to  consign  them  to  decay. 

In  him  we  rejoice  to  recognize  one  who,  for  half 
a  century,  has  stood  before  the  world  and  the  Church, 


r 


V 


'< 


I 


i 


I 


no 


MEMORIAL  SERMON. 


conspicuous    for   his    exalted    character    and    personal 
influence,  distinguished  for  his  intellectual  power  and 
the  largeness   of   his    attainments.      In   his   Christian 
character  we  recognize  a  living  Epistle  of  Christ,  an 
example  of  the  manifold  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  characterized  by  a  rare  humility,   though  en- 
dowed  with    great    mental    powers    and    attainments, 
and  honored  with    the    most    elevated   honors   which 
the  Church  militant  can  confer  ;   gentle,  though  pos- 
sessed of  a  resoluteness  of  will  which  was  unyielding 
when  truth  or  principle  was  involved.      In  him  we 
recognize  a    Bishop    in    the    Church    of  God,    richly 
endowed  with  the  most  exalted  gifts  and  graces,  with 
a  loving  zeal  for  the  salvation  of   souls;    blameless, 
"having  a  good  report  of  them  that  are  without;'' 
an  able,  an  eloquent  defender  of  the  faith  ;  wise  and 
discriminating  in   the  Councils  of   the  Church,    illus- 
trating   the    high    character    of    a    Christian    Bishop, 
drawn  by  the  pen  of  inspiration,  **in  doctrine  show- 
ing   uncorruptness,    gravity,    sincerity,    sound    speech, 
that  cannot  be  condemned.'' 

How  sadly  we  shall  miss  the  inspiration  of  his 
presence,  of  his  words,  of  his  example !  The  time 
that  has  elapsed  since  his  departure  does  but  increase 
our  estimate  of  his  saintly  and  elevated  character ; 
by  being  removed  from  it  a  little  space,  we  seem 
to  apprehend  more  clearly  its  perfect  proportions  and 
its  simple  majesty,  and  to  realize  that  there  was  more 
reason  than  we  knew  while  he  was  yet  with  us,  to 
love  and  revere  him  as  we  did. 

With  such  an  example  of  ministerial  devotion  and 


<  ' 


REV.   CHARLES  E.   MURRAY. 


Ill 


faithfulness,  let  us  resolve  that  we  will  leave  nothing 
unattempted  that  may  issue  in  the  salvation  of  the 
souls  committed  to  our  care.  By  manifestation  of  the 
truth,  let  us  commend  ourselves  to  every  man's  con- 
science in  the  sight  of  God ;  expecting  to  meet  our 
people  at  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  we  shall  spare 
no  man's  errors,  respect  no  man's  prejudices,  fear  no 
man's  indignation,  and  though  we  would  willingly 
give  no  offence,  yet  shall  we  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort 
with  all  authority.  Keeping  our  own  hearts  with  all 
diligence,  instant  in  season,  out  of  season,  in  our 
ministerial  work  ;  studious  in  every  act  of  life,  not  to 
impair  but  to  confirm  the  impression  of  our  public 
labors,  generous  in  our  construction  of  other  men's 
motives,  and  charitable  to  their  failings  in  the  same 
degree  in  which  we  are  intolerant  of  our  own,  let  our 
hopes,  our  aims,  our  ambitions,  all  be  summed  up  in 
this,  that  when  the  Great  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of 
souls  shall  appear,  **we  may  have  confidence  and  not 
be  ashamed  before  Him  at  His  coming." 


1 


*       '  J 


\ 


\ 


V 


\ 


» 


\ 

1 


j 


*l 


/ 


»// 


i-  ; 


I 


) 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


8 


) 


M 


/ 


I 


II 


/ 


/ 
J 


[Every  Evening,  Aprii,  13.] 

It  is  not  often  in  onr  history  that  the  mourning 
of  our  city  re-echoes  beyond  its  own  borders,  but 
the  good  man  who  now  awaits  his  rest,  whose 
life  was  lived  in  our  very  midst,  who,  for  forty- 
five  years,  shared  the  griefs,  the  joys,  the  interests 
of  Wihnington,  bestowing  the  love  of  a  spiritual 
father  far  beyond  the  confines  of  his  own  church, 
and  doing  what  in  him  lay  for  all  around  him, 
was  a  prominent  part  of  ecclesiastical  history,  primate 
of  his  church,  the  oldest  Bishop  in  the  world,  loved 
and  revered  throughout  the  nation  and  the  Christian 
world  as  well. 

Probably  few  intelligent  Christians  of  any  country 
are  unacquainted  with  the  lofty  individuality  of  his 
character,  his  strenuous  hold  upon  definite  principles, 
his  unwearied  efforts,  his  high-bom  courtesy,  his  sub- 
ordination of  all  desires  and  impulses  to  a  plan  of  life 
conceived  upon  the  loftiest  plane  which  the  mmd  of 
man,  modelled  in  the  image  of  Creative  Intelligence, 
can  grasp. 

In  Bishop  Lee  was  nothing  hasty,  immature,  forced 
or  unconsidered.  It  took  nearly  a  century  to  ripen 
this  ideal  of  venerable  and  saintly  manhood.  With 
it,  something  goes  which  this  era,  certainly,  will  not 
replace.  Types,  issues,  interests  and  men  change. 
Each  century  creates  its  own  wants,  and  for  the  ocea- 
ns 


ft 


I 


; 


/ 


Ii6 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


sion  the  man  arises.  He  who  has  passed  away  fought 
the  fight  of  his  day  with  the  zeal,  the  honor,  the  rec- 
titude of  the  true  soldier.  His  clear-judging,  deliberate, 
conscientious  spirit  viewed  the  end  from  the  beginning, 
took  in  all  the  points  of  conflict,  then  never,  for  wea- 
riness or  faint-heartedness,  swerved  for  a  moment. 
Bishop  Lee's  was  the  nerving,  exhilarating  faith,  the 
faith  of  Puritans,  crusaders,  missionaries,  martyrs,  the 
faith  of  Athanasius,  of  Loyola,  of  Knox,  which  never 
deserts  a  man  in  dying  and  is  equally  a  support  in 
the  far  more  difiicult  ordeal  of  life.  Perhaps  of  all 
characteristics  this  is  the  rarest  in  our  amiable,  eclectic, 
easy-going  generation.  Bishop  Lee  was  of  the  stuff"  to 
save  any  cause  to  which  he  adhered.  In  addition,  he 
had  the  reverence,  the  sense  of  propriety,  the  courtly 
regard  for  times,  persons,  occasions,  which  those  of 
such  sterling  calibre  often,  as  it  were  purposely  dis- 
regard. 

The  city  of  Wilmington  may  mourn  the  departure 
of  so  saintly  a  spirit,  and  the  State  may  well  feel  im- 
poverished by  the  loss  of  so  distinguished  a  citizen. 

Not  only  was  he  always  alive  to  the  personal  obli- 
gations which  rest  upon  the  citizen  of  a  free  State, 
but  his  reputation  throughout  his  country  and  the 
world  cast  lustre  upon  the  State  of  his  adoption  and 
the  city  of  his  residence.  All  who  knew  him  inti- 
mately loved  him,  and  all  who  were  brought  into 
contact  with  him  in  the  broader  arena  in  whose  exer- 
cises his  high  office  made  him  a  participant,  whether 
they  followed  or  opposed  him,  accorded  the  utmost 
measure  of  respect  for  his  intellectual  force,  his  modest 
bearing  and  his  holy  life. 


,. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


117 


In  his  walk  and  conversation,  he  was  a  living  wit- 
ness of  the  Christianity  which  he  taught.  To  him  it 
was  no  abstraction,  but  a  vitalizing  principle,  which 
permeated  his  life  and  inspired  both  word  and  act. 

With  those  who  are  more  immediately  afflicted  by 
his  death,  with  the  people  of  his  parish  and  the 
clergy  and  laity  of  his  diocese,  our  people  will  deeply 
sympathize  ;  but  beyond  that  there  will  be  a  sense  of 
great  public  bereavement,  limited  neither  by  age  nor 
race  nor  creed. 


[The  Morning  News,  Aprii,  13.] 

The  death  of  Bishop  Lee  of  this  city,  yesterday 
afternoon,  removes  from  Wilmington  one  of  our  ven- 
erable and  venerated  citizens.  For  fortj'^-six  years  he 
has  gone  in  and  out  among  us,  leading  a  blameless 
life.  In  all  those  traits  of  character  which  elicit  gen- 
eral respect  and  win  and  hold  private  confidence,  he 
was  pre-eminent.  The  sincerity,  the  gentleness  and 
the  benignant  high-mindedness  of  his  daily  walk  and 
conversation,  were  obvious  to  all.  His  sweet  and 
sympathetic  and  noble  qualities  of  mind  and  heart, 
added  a  gracious  and  beautiful  quality  to  the  high 
ecclesiastical  position  as  a  bishop  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  which  he  so  admirably  and  safely 
filled.  He  administered  the  duties  of  this  office  in 
accordance  with  the  ideal  of  St.  Paul,  who,  in  writing 
to  Timothy,  described  the  office  of  a  bishop  as  *'a 
good  work.**      To  do  good  and  to  promote  well-doing 


iU 


h 

If/ 


I 


i 


y 


J 


i: 


ii8 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


among  others  were  the  sole  ends  at  which  Bishop  Lee 
aimed.  His  learning  was  varied  and  sound,  and  his 
preaching  simple  and  practical.  His  piety  was  unaf- 
fected, and  one  felt  in  his  presence  that  he  was  in  the 
company  of  a  good  man.  His  goodness  won  the  liking 
and  affection  of  children,  as  well  as  the  admiration 
and  lasting  tnist  of  mature  minds.  In  short.  Bishop 
Lee  was  a  man  who  made  personal  Christianity  lovely 
and  attractive  in  every  way,  just  as  it  was  intended 
to  be,  and  just  as  it  always  is  when  it  is  permitted  to 
impregnate  the  sources  of  a  man's  life  with  its  gentle 
and  benign  qualities. 


[From  the  Morning  News,  Monday,  Aprii,  i8.] 

DR.  TODD  ON  BISHOP  LEE. 

The  Rev.  Jacob  Todd,  D.  D. ,  preached  in  Grace  M. 
E.  Church,  yesterday  morning,  from  II  Samuel,  third 
chapter  and  thirty-eighth  verse:  **Know  ye  not  that 
there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen  this  day  in 
Israel?"  He  said  :  *'I  ofifer  no  apology  for  preaching 
this  morning  upon  the  death  of  Bishop  Lee.  I  hope 
I  may  never  become  so  narrow  and  bigoted  that  I 
cannot  appreciate  worth  and  piety  in  another  commu- 
nion, or  sympathize  with  the  sorrowing  of  another 
denomination.  While  we  are  sitting  here  with  the 
sunlight  shining  upon  us,  a  sister  church  in  this  city 
is  in  sackcloth  and  ashes  because  of  the  death  of  their 
chief  pastor.     To  say  that  a  Bishop  has  fallen,  conveys 


. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


119 


but  a  small  part  of  the  awful  truth.  Alfred  Lee  was 
much  more  than  a  Bishop.  He  was  one  of  those  rare 
spirits  who  dignify  any  position  to  which  they  are 
called,  and  leave  the  office  more  honorable  for  their 
having  filled  it.  The  church  can  easily  make  another 
Bishop,  but  only  God  can  make  another  man  like 
Alfred  Lee.  When  a  ship  goes  down  in  mid-ocean,  it 
requires  only  a  few  minutes  for  the  troubled  waters  to 
become  calm  again  and  the  waves  to  roll  on  as  though 
nothing  had  happened.  But  when  some  jutting  prom- 
ontory sinks  down  beneath  the  sea,  a  great  landmark 
is  gone,  and  the  navigator  is  bewildered,  not  knowing 
just  where  he  is,  or  how  to  steer  his  course.  It  is  not 
my  purpose  to  deify  a  fallen  hero,  or  canonize  an  as- 
cended saint ;  but  Bishop  Lee  was  no  ordinary  man, 
and  his  death  is  no  ordinary  loss.  He  was  the  Pri- 
mate of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  a  theologian 
of  very  high  rank,  a  polemic  whom  few  men  cared  to 
encounter,  and  a  scholar  versed  in  profound  and  varied 
learning.  He  was  the  creator  of  this  Diocese,  having 
come  to  it  when  its  existence  was  little  more  than  an 
interrogation  point. 

**His  venerable  form  and  genial  face  had  become  a 
part  of  our  city.  He  was  identified  with  nearly  every 
public  charity  and  benevolent  society  in  our  midst. 
The  city  had  grown  from  ten  thousand  to  fifty-five 
thousand  inhabitants  during  his  episcopate.  Linked 
thus  by  historic  ties  to  the  city,  his  death  becomes  a 
public  loss  in  which  every  citizen  shares. 

**But  that  which  binds  him  to  us  mo're  closely  than 
anything  else  is  his  sweet  and  gentle  character,  and 


II 


> 


1 20 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


121 


'^ 


X, 


his  meek  and  humble  deportment.  I  have  never 
known  a  man  who  could  wear  honors  and  wield 
power  more  meekly  and  modestly  than  he.  He  never 
exhibited  the  Bishop's  crozier,  but  always  offered  you 
the  Christian's  hand.  There  was  no  home  too  humble 
for  him  to  enter,  and  no  man  too  poor  or  ignorant  for 
him  to  greet 

**But  do  not  imagine  that  his  meekness  was  the 
effect  of  weakness.  No  man  was  braver  in  defense  of 
his  opinions  or  bolder  in  declaring  the  truth  than  he. 
Beneath  a  velvet  glove  he  had  a  sinewy  hand,  with  a 
vigorous  grip  when  occasion  demanded. 

"He  is  gone,  and  we  shall  not  soon  see  his  like 
again.  May  his  mantle  fall  upon  some  worthy  suc- 
cessor, and  may  his  Christ-like  spirit  descend  upon  us.'* 


[Daily  Repubucan.] 

******  Bishop  Lee  needs 
no  encomiums  from  our  pen  here,  where  he  is  best 
known.  His  name  is  a  household  word  in  Wilming- 
ton. He  was  as  well  known  and  respected  in  the 
poor  home  as  in  the  rich  home.  All  alike  received 
his  visitations  and  kind  administrations.  Every  char- 
itable work  received  his  hearty  support.  Amidst  his 
busy  rounds  of  church-work,  which  took  him  to  all 
parts  of  the  country,  he  found  time  to  take  part  in 
the  cause  of  popular  and  general  education  of  the 
masses.  For  many  years  prior  to  the  legislative  dis- 
qualification of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  as  members  of 
the    Board   of  Education,  he  was  a  member  of  that 


) 


body,  the  idea  then  prevailing  that  the  best  educated 
men  were  the  more  proper  representatives  of  educa- 
tional work. 

When  the  dark  shadow  of  rebellion  spread  itself  over 
the  nation,  the  Union  cause  had  no  abler  defender 
than  Bishop  Lee.  The  community  sustains  a  great 
loss  in  the  death  of  Bishop  Lee  ;  but,  having  lived 
out  the  allotted  time  of  man's  life,  the  world  had  no 
longer  any  claims  upon  him,  and,  at  a  ripe  old  age, 
he  has  gone  to  enjoy  the  rewards  of  a  better  world. 


[DEI.AWARE   DEMOCRAT,   GEORGETOWN.] 

Although  not  unexpected,  the  decease  of  Bishop 
Lee  was  a  severe  shock  to  the  people  of  this  Dio- 
cese and  of  the  Church  in  this  country.  During  the 
long  term  of  his  episcopate,  he  had  shown  those 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which  raised  him  above 
a  great  part  of  his  fellow-men,  and  made  him  pop- 
ular and  influential  with  both  the  Clergy  and  the 
Laity  of  this  and  other  Dioceses. 


[BA1.TIMORE  American.] 

The  wide  influence  of  a  quiet,  industrious  life  was 
never  more  aptly  illustrated  than  in  the  career  of  the 
late  Bishop  Alfred  Lee.     He  was  not  a  brilliant  man ; 


'1 


J 


I      I 

if 


v^ 


% 


/ 


.  / 


J 


122 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


he  had  not  a  large  Diocese,  and  he  never  attempted 
pulpit  sensationalism  for  temporary  fame  ;  and  yet  his 
purity  of  character,  his  intense  love  for  the  Church, 
his  broad  charity  in  religion  and  work,  his  plain 
forceful  sermons,  and  his  patient  consideration  under 
all  circumstances,  made  him  one  of  the  best-beloved 
men  that  this  country  has  ever  seen.  In  Delaware, 
a  State  greatly  given  to  hero-worship,  the  affection 
for  him  was  remarkable ;  and  in  every  place  where 
his  books  were  read  and  his  name  was  known,  he 
was  esteemed  as  men  rarely  are  in  this  world  of 
sharp  competitions  and  general  fault-finding.  Small 
wonder,  then,  that  the  people  of  his  Diocese  laid 
upon  his  coffin  every  tribute  that  devotion  could 
suggest. 

Bishop  Lee  is  a  type  of  some  of  the  greatest  forces 
in  religious  efforts  and  success.  Religious  sensations 
are  common  enough.  We  often  see  the  pulpit  phe- 
nomenon who  can  entertain  a  crowded  congregation 
with  the  tricks  of  oratory  applied  to  a  text.  He 
plays  his  part  like  the  actor  that  he  is,  amuses  his 
auditors,  increases  the  church  collections,  and  gives 
his  charge  a  temporary  doopi ;  but  what  does  it  amount 
to  ?  Sometimes  good  follows,  but  too  often  it  is  merely 
a  passing  show  that  exhibits  in  the  name  of  religion 
without  religious  results.  To  men  of  the  character 
of  Bishop  Lee,  religion  is  not  a  mere  Sunday  im- 
pression—  it  is,  in  the  words  of  Carlyle,  **a  thou- 
sand-voiced psalm  from  the  heart  of  a  man  to  his 
invisible  Father,  the  fountain  of  all  goodness,  beauty, 
truth,  and  revealed  in  every  revelation  of  these."     It 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


123 


is  an  ever-present  source  of  inspiration  and  consola- 
tion. It  exalts  and  purifies  and  encourages  and  lib- 
eralizes, and  gives  to  the  mind  and  the  soul  a  fresh- 
ness and  a  hope  that  make  duties  pleasures  and  add 
to  the  goodness  and  charity  of  the  world.  Men  with 
this  religion  are  the  men  that  we  love,  the  men  that 
we  sincerely  and  thoroughly  admire.  We  go  to  them 
for  advice,  for  assistance,  for  encouragement,  and  we 
pattern  our  best  intentions  after  their  examples.  The 
applause  of  the  hour  may  not  attend  such  men  in 
the  pulpit,  but  the  love  of  the  lifetime  is  theirs. 


[Parish  Visitor.] 
41  «  «  4e  4e  « 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.  D.,  LL.D.,  departed 
this  life  at  his  late  residence  in  Wilmington,  Dela- 
ware, on  the  i2th  day  of  April,  1887,  in  the  eightieth 
year  of  his  age,  and  the  forty-sixth  year  of  his  epis- 
copate. Upon  the  death  of  Bishop  Smith,  in  1884, 
he  became  the  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  House  of 
Bishops.  In  1873,  ^pon  the  death  of  Bishop  Mcll- 
vaine,  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Evangelical 
Knowledge.  This  position  he  occupied  till  his  death. 
In  the  removal  of  such  a  man,  such  a  minister  of 
Christ,  and  such  a  Bishop,  the  Church  and  the  world 

sustain  a  great  loss. 

nt  it  Hit  m  *  * 

In  all  his  relations,  as  a  father  in  his  family,  as  a 
man  and  citizen   in   the   community,   as  a  pastor  in 


\ 


\ 


**IMi        .. 


k*  ..')! 


[a 


\ 


/ 


J 


I 


122 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


he  had  not  a  large  Diocese,  and  he  never  attempted 
pulpit  sensationalism  for  temporary  fame  ;  and  yet  his 
purity  of  character,  his  intense  love  for  the  Church, 
his  broad  charity  in  religion  and  work,  his  plain 
forceful  sermons,  and  his  patient  consideration  under 
all  circumstances,  made  him  one  of  the  best-beloved 
men  that  this  country  has  ever  seen.  In  Delaware, 
a  State  greatly  given  to  hero-worship,  the  affection 
for  him  was  remarkable ;  and  in  every  place  where 
his  books  were  read  and  his  name  was  known,  he 
was  esteemed  as  men  rarely  are  in  this  world  of 
sharp  competitions  and  general  fault-finding.  Small 
wonder,  then,  that  the  people  of  his  Diocese  laid 
upon  his  coffin  every  tribute  that  devotion  could 
suggest. 

Bishop  Lee  is  a  type  of  some  of  the  greatest  forces 
in  religious  eflforts  and  success.  Religious  sensations 
are  common  enough.  We  often  see  the  pulpit  phe- 
nomenon who  can  entertain  a  crowded  congregation 
with  the  tricks  of  oratory  applied  to  a  text.  He 
plays  his  part  like  the  actor  that  he  is,  amuses  his 
auditors,  increases  the  church  collections,  and  gives 
his  charge  a  temporary  doom  ;  but  what  does  it  amount 
to  ?  Sometimes  good  follows,  but  too  often  it  is  merely 
a  passing  show  that  exhibits  in  the  name  of  religion 
without  religious  results.  To  men  of  the  character 
of  Bishop  Lee,  religion  is  not  a  mere  Sunday  im- 
pression—  it  is,  in  the  words  of  Carlyle,  **a  thou- 
sand-voiced psalm  from  the  heart  of  a  man  to  his 
invisible  Father,  the  fountain  of  all  goodness,  beauty, 
truth,  and  revealed  in  every  revelation  of  these.'*     It 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


123 


is  an  ever-present  source  of  inspiration  and  consola- 
tion. It  exalts  and  purifies  and  encourages  and  lib- 
eralizes, and  gives  to  the  mind  and  the  soul  a  fresh- 
ness and  a  hope  that  make  duties  pleasures  and  add 
to  the  goodness  and  charity  of  the  world.  Men  with 
this  religion  are  the  men  that  we  love,  the  men  that 
we  sincerely  and  thoroughly  admire.  We  go  to  them 
for  advice,  for  assistance,  for  encouragement,  and  we 
pattern  our  best  intentions  after  their  examples.  The 
applause  of  the  hour  may  not  attend  such  men  in 
the  pulpit,  but  the  love  of  the  lifetime  is  theirs. 


[Parish  Visitor.] 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.  D.,  LL.D.,  departed 
this  life  at  his  late  residence  in  Wilmington,  Dela- 
ware, on  the  I2th  day  of  April,  1887,  in  the  eightieth 
year  of  his  age,  and  the  forty-sixth  year  of  his  epis- 
copate. Upon  the  death  of  Bishop  Smith,  in  1884, 
he  became  the  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  House  of 
Bishops.  In  1873,  upon  the  death  of  Bishop  Mcll- 
vaine,  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Evangelical 
Knowledge.  This  position  he  occupied  till  his  death. 
In  the  removal  of  such  a  man,  such  a  minister  of 
Christ,  and  such  a  Bishop,  the  Church  and  the  world 
sustain  a  great  loss. 

4c  4c  4c  4c  4c  4c 

In  all  his  relations,  as  a  father  in  his  family,  as  a 
man  and  citizen   in   the   community,   as  a  pastor  in 


"i 


» 


/ 

) 


124 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


his  parish,  and  as  a  Bishop  in  his  Diocese,  his  long 
and  laborious  life  was  but  one  continued  and  beau- 
tiful example  and  illustration  of  the  grace  and  power 
of  that  Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  which  he  so  deeply 
loved  and  so  earnestly  preached. 

His  native  powers  were  great ;  his  culture  much  more 
than  ordinary.  These,  combined  with  strong  common 
sense  and  a  sound  judgment,  gave  to  his  opinions 
g^eat  weight  and  influence  in  the  councils  of  the 
Church  and  among  his  fellow-men.  His  reading  was 
general,  his  knowledge  and  scholarship  exact,  and  his 
views  were  logical  and  conclusive.  Thus  it  was  that 
wherever  known  he  inspired  confidence  and  respect. 
This  was  fully  shown  by  the  deference  paid  to  him  at 
the  great  Lambeth  Conference  of  Bishops  in  London. 

In  religion  his  principles  and  teachings  were  dis- 
tinctly evangelical.  The  Bible  was  his  supreme  au- 
thority in  spirit  and  doctrine.  In  Churchmanship  he 
was  thorough  and  consistent.  He  fully  recognized  the 
primitive  and  Apostolic  order  as  well  as  the  beauty 
and  excellence  of  the  impressive  Liturgy  of  the  Church. 
He  also  recognized  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
as  the  appointed  authority  and  guide  in  the  admin- 
istration of  its  sacraments,  rites  and  worship,  and  was 
strongly  opposed  to  all  teachings  and  practices  which 
tended  to  subvert  or  destroy  the  same.  For  this 
reason  it  was  that  he  allied  himself  with  those  who 
organized  the  society  of  which  he  was  the  honored 
president  at  the  time  of  his  death.  With  pen  and 
voice  he  advocated  its  claims.  His  **  Life  of  St.  John," 
his  tract,  **The  Church  in  the  House,''  and  his  treatise 


. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


125 


on  **  Baptism,"  are  among  its  publications.  His  sole 
motive  in  this  alliance  and  labor  was  to  protect  and 
peipetuate,  in  its  purity  and  integrity,  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  whose  vows  he  had  assumed  and 
to  whose  service  he  had  consecrated  his  life. 

Such,  in  a  word,  was  Bishop  Lee— a  true  Church- 
man, a  catholic  Christian,  a  holy  man  of  God. 


[The  Church.] 

As  we  are  about  to^  go  to  press,  the  sad  news 
reaches  us  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Lee,  of  Delaware. 
The  Church  militant  suffers  loss  in  the  departure  of 
a  standard-bearer,  so  pure  in  character,  so  noble  in 
spirit,  so  thoroughly  equipped  for  his  Master's  work, 
and  so  lovingly  consecrated  to  the  Divine  service. 
But  to  him  death  is  gain.  Absent  from  the  body, 
he  is,  in  his  spiritual  nature,  the  grandest  part  of  his 
being,  at  home  with  the  Lord.  Thank  God  for  the 
revelation  given  us  as  to  the  condition  of  the  departed 

believer. 

A    biographical    sketch    which    follows,    concludes 

thus : —  -.  * 

He  was  a  man  of  pre-eminent  purity  of  character 
and  a  most  exalted  type  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel. 
He  was  descended  from  a  family  of  high  character, 
and  inherited  a  moderate  fortune  from  his  parents. 
His  mother  lived  to  be  ninety  years  of  age.  He  has 
been  for  forty-six  years  a  Bishop  and  for  forty-nine 
years  a    Minister   of   the    Church.      He    has   been  a 


•! 


:*<  II 


11 


1i 


M 


/ 


126 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


; 


fruitful  writer,  an  astute  and  able  polemic,  a  most 
consistent  Christian,  the  highest  style  of  man.  He 
has  adorned  every  position  he  has  filled,  and  has  been 
always  equal  to  the  duties  of  his  office  and  place  as 
one  of  the  foremost  men  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.  He  represented  the  men  of  the  formative 
period  of  the  Church's  history.  He  was  associated 
with  some  of  the  leading  minds  of  the  Episcopal  Col- 
lege in  America  and  of  the  Anglican  Episcopate.  He 
ranks  as  one  of  the  most  lucid  thinkers,  discriminating 
writers,  experienced  and  sage  counsellors  in  the  as- 
semblies of  the  Church.  Hp  represented  the  school 
of  thought  in  the  Church  in  which  White  and  Gris- 
wold,  Tyng  and  Mcllvaine,  Bedell  and  Meade  and 
Johns  were  noted.  He  represented  the  work  of  the 
Church  in  Mexico  by  a  wise  and  generous  adminis- 
trative counsel.  He  represented  the  House  of  Bishops 
as  the  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
America.  He  represented  that  polity  and  doctrine  of 
the  Church  which  has  really  taken  for  its  principle 
of  action  the  famous  saying  of  St.  Augustine  :  **  Unity 
in  essentials,  liberty  in  non-essentials,  and  charity  in 

all  things.'' 

Identified  with  the  great  movements  of  the  Christian 
world,  he  was  a  friend  of  temperance,  a  patron  and 
pleader  for  the  American  Tract  Society,  for  the 
American  Bible  Society,  and  for  the  American  Sun- 
day-school  Union.  He  was  the  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  the  Philadelphia  Divinity  School,  of 
the  Evangelical  Knowledge  Society,  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  American  Church  Missionary  Society.     He 


EXPRESSIONS  OF^THE  PRESS. 


127 


held  high  positions  in  all  organized  bodies  with  which 
he  was  connected,  as  a  scholar,  a  Christian,  and  a  wise 
Bishop  and  teacher  in  the  Church.  His  death  will  be 
mourned  by  the  whole  Church,  and  his  memory  will 
be  like  precious  ointment  poured  forth. 


A  correspondent  of  The  Church  writes : 
All    that    was    mortal    of    our    late    beloved    and 
honored   Presiding  Bishop  was  laid  in  the  earth  last 
Friday,   in    the    sacred    resting-place   where   were    al- 
ready gathered  many  who  were  near  and  dear  to  him 

in  life. 

The  papers,  both  secular  and  religious,  have  given 
sufficiently  the  dates  of  the  most  important  transi- 
tional points  of  his  life.  It  remains  only  for  those 
who  come  after  to  put  together  whatever  thoughts 
they  may  have  respecting  him  as  a  man  and  a  Minis- 
ter of  Christ. 

It  is  only  the  barest  truth  to  say,  that  to  know 
him  was  to  love  him — lovable  as  he  was  in  all  the 
traits  of  his  character.  Gentle  as  a  child,  modest  and 
retiring  as  a  woman,  and  yet  strong  and  manly  as 
any  man  would  wish  to  be,  our  Bishop  moved  among 
men  gathering  to  himself,  as  must  needs  be,  the 
respectful  affection  of  all  within  his  personal  range. 

He  was  pre-eminently  a  holy  man  ;  and  when  the 
light  of  such  a  life  goes  out,  the  Church  on  earth 
must  mourn,  for  such  men  are  at  once  her  ornament 
and    her    defence.      The    savor    of  a    holy    character 


if 


128 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


129 


ID' 

'•A 


H 


} 


I 

f 


breathed  from  him  wherever  he  went,  manifesting 
itself  in  his  saintly  look,  in  his  meek  and  lowly  de- 
meanor, in  his  speech  ever  seasoned  with  the  salt  of 
Divine  grace,  evidencing  a  sonl  to  whom  God  seemed 
ever  near,  and  with  whom  he  oft  held  communion. 
He  was  a  man  who  never  magnified  his  office  in  any 
worldly  sense,  but  who  always  bore  its  honor  as  real- 
izing its  responsibility.  To  all  the  above,  his  friends 
and  neighbors,  whether  in  the  Church  of  which  he 
was  an  overseer  or  out  of  it,  will  bear  their  testimony. 
The  feeling  that  his  death  drew  out  in  the  commu- 
nity in  which  he  lived,  and  their  interest  in  the 
funeral  rites  of  his  burial,  attest  it. 

Others  can  speak  better  of  his  scholarship,  having 
known  him  better  in  those  relationships  in  which  it 
was  brought  out.  But  this  all  know,  that  he  never 
passed  it  off  for  more  than  it  really  was,  more  likely 
for  less.  But  if  we  may  judge  of  his  scholarly  culture 
by  his  writings,  we  have  abundant  evidence  of  that ; 
his  style  being  that  of  one  accustomed  to  think 
clearly,  and  to  express  himself  with  elegance  and 
force.  His  rather  feeble  voice  kept  him  back,  perhaps, 
from  being  one  of  our  most  commanding  preachers, 
though  he  was  always  listened  to  with  interest  and 
attention.  The  last  time,  however,  that  the  writer 
had  the  satisfaction  of  listening  to  him— in  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  in  Philadelphia— his  voice  seemed 
to  have  gained  new  power,  and  he  spoke  in  tones 
that  rang  through  that  spacious  sanctuary,  and  what 
he  said  on  that  occasion  was  eminently  worthy  of 
being  heard. 


Early  in  his  career  as  a  Bishop,  he  distinguished 
himself  for  his  ripe  judgment  and  acumen.  It  was 
at  the  memorable  trial  of  Bishop  Onderdonk,  of  New 
York,  when  his  written  **  opinion,'^  given  in  the  con- 
clave of  Bishops,  though  probably  the  youngest  of 
them  all,  was,  with  one  voice,  accounted  as  among 
the  wisest  and  most  discreet.  What  his  weight  was 
as  a  Bishop  among  Bishops,  in  their  **  House,''  the 
Bishops  themselves  can  better  testify  than  an  outside 
Presbyter. 

That  he  was  bold  and  courageous  in  the  utterance 
of  his  opinions,    which   were  strictly    ** Evangelical,*' 
he  gave  full  proof,  when  it  came  to  be  his  turn,  in  the 
order  of  his  seniority  as  Bishop,  to  preach  before  the 
body  of  clergy  and  laity  in  General  Convention  assem- 
bled.     Though    aware   that  to   many   of  his   hearers 
those  opinions  were  distasteful,    he  hesitated  not,  on 
that  solemn  and   responsible   occasion,   plainly  and   in 
unmistakable   terms   to  avow  them,   and   to  set  them 
forth  with  all  the  power  that  it  was  his  to  give  them. 
And    yet   he   did    it  not    as  violating   that    meekness 
and  gentleness  which  we  have  said  so  conspicuously 
adorned  him.     The  occasion  was  memorable,  both  for 
the  outspokenness  of  the  preaching  and  the  contest 
which    followed,   whether   the  ancient   custom  should 
be  adhered  to — publishing  to  the  world  what  had  evi- 
dently fallen  on  so  many  unwilling  ears.     To  the  credit 
of  the  Convention,  the  voices  for  publishing  prevailed. 
The  writer  has  often   heard   him   on   the  occasions 
of  his  addresses  to  the  graduating  classes  of  our  Divin- 
ity School,  and  there  was  always  the  ring  about  them 
9 


) 


)■ 


.! 


) 


,„  EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

of  one  who  spoke  what  he  knew  and  felt  of  the 
seriousness  of  the  ministerial  calling,  and  of  the  spirit 
which  should  be  in  all  who  entered  upon  it  They 
were  quiet  and  unaffected,  but  pervaded  by  a  solemn- 
ity which  went  home  to  us  all. 

How  greatly  we  shall  miss  him,  now  that  he  has 
gone-whom  we,  in  these  parts,  were  so  accustomed 
to  see  and  to  confer  with  in  counsel.  For  though 
not  ot^r  Bishop,  he  was  our  neighbor,  and  often 
among  us ;  the  dear  friend  of  our  Bishop,  and  of  his 
predecessor,  Alonzo  Potter,  by  both  of  whom  the 
Bishop  of  Delaware  was  held  in  the  highest  estima- 

tion. 

On  looking  back  upon  his  life  and  character,  now 

that  they  are  things  of  the  past,  we  could  not  say 

less  than  we  have-we  feel  that  we  might  say  more 

—much  more. 

He  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
-an  Apostolic  Bishop  and  a  true  and  faithful  Mmis- 
ter  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour.  May  that  Lord,  Head 
over  all  things  to  His  Church,  raise  up  many  like 
Him,  and  not  Bishops  only,  but  pastors  and  teachers 
of  every  degree. 


Another  correspondent  says  :— 

If  ever  there  was  a  Bishop  to  whom  the  expres- 
sion  »* Father  in  God''  could  be  applied  with  singu- 
lar appropriateness,  it  was  the  beloved  and  lamented 
Bishop  Lee,  of  Delaware.  He  was  a  Father  to  the 
Clergy  of  the  Diocese,  one  who  was  ever  true  to  their 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


131 


best  interests,  and  one  who  was  looked  up  to  with 
profound  respect  and  affection.  He  belonged  to  that 
saintly  order  of  men,  beginning  with  the  venerable 
White,  whose  record  is  on  high,  and  who  have  been 
the  crown  of  glory  of  the  American  Church. 

That  he  was  a  ripe  scholar  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  he  was  chosen  to  be  of  the  company  of  the 
revisers  of  the  New  Testament.  Those  who  are 
familiar  with  his  addresses,  and  sermons  and  charo^es 
know  what  a  clear,  logical,  and  well-disciplined  mind, 
strengthened  not  a  little  by  his  legal  training,  shone 
out  in  a  diction  as  forcible  as  it  was  beautiful  and 
felicitous.  Owing  to  his  office,  he  was  often  called 
upon  to  speak  on  occasions  requiring  no  little  skill 
and  judgment,  and  the  opinion  of  few  men  in  the 
House  of  Bishops  carried  with  it  greater  weight. 

He  was  a  Christian  gentleman  in  every  sense  of 
the  word.  He  was  a  gentleman,  because  he  was  so 
much  of  a  true  Christian.  I  have  known  him  inti- 
mately for  the  last  sixteen  years,  and  in  all  those 
years  I  never  knew  him  do  a  discourteous  act,  or 
wound  unnecessarily  the  feelings  of  anyone.  I  have 
seen  him  tried  almost  beyond  endurance,  yet  his 
equanimity  never  forsook  him.  In  this  respect  I 
never  saw  his  equal.  He  had  his  full  share  of  trial, 
owing  to  his  heroic  devotion  to  his  convictions  of 
duty,  but  in  what  he  said  and  did,  and  often  in  what 
he  found  himself  forced  to  do  (in  positions  from  which 
he  would  have  gladly  shrunk,  and  tried  as  a  friend  to 
avoid),  yet  when  once  face  to  face  with  official  duty 
he  was  as  brave  as  a  lion,  though  gentle  as  a  lamb. 


Ill 


i 


132 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


•  i 


I 


I 


i 


Ifc 


V  • 


When  weighted  with  years,  his  strong,  elastic  physi- 
cal constitution,  conserved  by  the  most  methodical 
regimen,  enabled  him  to  endure  fatigue  better  than 
most  of  his  Clergy.  I  have  seen  him  alight  from 
his  carriage  after  a  long  afternoon's  drive  through 
the  hot  sands  of  lower  Delaware,  covered  from  head 
to  foot  with  dust,  yet  without  a  murmur,  and  always 
with  a  bright  and  cheerful  greeting,  and  after  a  sim- 
ple repast,  ready  for  work  in  the  evening.  In  the 
morning,  on  going  down  to  my  library,  I  would  find 
the  Bishop  with  his  correspondence  finished  and  ready 
for  the  mail  long  before  the  breakfast  hour. 

I  well  remember  on  the  occasion  of  a  consecration 
of  a  Chapel  in  the  lower  part  of  the  State,  when 
the  thermometer  stood  among  the  nineties,  the  zeal- 
ous Missionary  having  hurried  up  matters  on  account 
of  the  Bishop's  visit  being  so  short,  the  paint  was 
scarcely  dry,  and  what  with  the  smell  of  fresh  paint 
and  the  close  air  from  a  congregation  which  filled 
every  inch  of  room,  one  of  the  officiating  Clergy 
fainted  and  was  carried  out  of  the  Church,  and  an- 
other was  obliged  to  seek  the  open  air  or  he  would 
have  followed  suit ;  yet  in  the  evening  of  this  fatiguing 
day,  the  Bishop  came  along  as  calm  and  bright  as  if 
he  were  just  starting  out  for  his  work. 

So  in  the  Adirondacks,  where  he  went  for  several 
years  to  recuperate  his  strength,  and  where  we  sum- 
mered it  together  in  1884  and  1885.  At  the  appointed 
hour,  as  regular  as  clock-work,  he  was  always  the  first 
to  propose  a  long  walk  or  an  excursion. 

It  was  the  understanding  in  our  party   to  let  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


133 


Bishop  lead,  as  he  was  generally  the  first  to  be  on 
the  top  of  the  hill  or  the  end  of  the  tramp.  The 
Bishop  was  a  lover  of  nature,  and  nothing  so  de- 
lighted him  as  to  gaze  upon  the  gorgeous  sunsets  on 
those  purple  hills,  to  walk  through  the  primeval 
wood,  or  to  be  carried  slowly,  with  no  sound  but 
that  of  the  dip  of  the  oar,  over  the  lovely  bosom  of 
Lake  Placid.  Last  summer  he  spent  at  Lake  Mohonk. 
He  expressed  to  me,  who  drove  over  from  Minne- 
waska,  his  intense  satisfaction  with  his  surroundings. 
His  dear  old  friend  and  class-mate.  Governor  Win- 
throp,  was  with  him,  and  other  choice  companions, 
and  what  with  the  best  society  and  the  excellent 
accommodations,  and  the  beautiful  lake  and  splendid 
scenery,  his  cup  of  enjoyment  was  full  to  overflowing. 
He  knew  how  to  appreciate  **  whatsoever  things  are 
pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things 
are  of  good  report.''  His  Christian  character  is  the 
embodiment  of  all  that  the  Apostle  would  have  us 
think  over  and  imitate. 

His  funeral  was  a  fitting  testimonial  to  his  worth. 
Nine  Bishops  were  in  attendance,  and  at  least  a  hun- 
dred Clergymen  followed  him  to  his  resting-place  in 
the  Old  Swedes'  Church  Burial-Ground.  The  services 
at  St.  Andrew's  Church,  where  he  had  ministered  so 
long,  were  of  the  most  impressive  character  and  in 
accordance  with  his  quiet  tastes.  None  who  were  there 
will  ever  forget  the  remarks  of  his  friend  and  Brother, 
the  Bishop  of  Central  Pennsylvania.  He  was  called 
upon  unexpectedly  to  say  a  word,  and  those  words  were 
to  the  purpose.    We  hope  the  address  will  be  given  to 


134 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 


the  press,  but  the  impression,  that  deep  impression 
which  touched  all  hearts  in  that  crowded  Church, 
can  never  be  reproduced.  With  a  voice  at  times 
broken  with  deep  feeling,  yet  with  no  word  mis- 
placed, neither  too  many  nor  too  few,  that  cultured 
Bishop,  himself  the  next  in  actual  seniority,  we  be- 
lieve, (how  fast  time  flies  !)  stood  forth  as  a  veteran 
warrior  stands  by  the  grave  of  his  comrade,  with 
whom  he  had  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  under  many 
a  galling  fire,  and  told  of  the  love  that  he  bore  him 
and  the  lessons  of  his  Christ-like  life. 


[Th«  Church  Press.] 

The  death  of  the  late  Presiding  Bishop  of  the 
Church,  the  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
has  not  taken  the  Church  by  surprise.  His  advanced 
age  and  his  recent  indisposition  had  prepared  the 
Church  for  such  an  issue.  The  whole  Church,  how- 
ever, mourned  his  departure  as  that  of  a  wise,  earnest 
and  faithful  Prelate,  whose  qualifications  were  of  a 
high  order,  and  whose  services,  through  a  long  series 
of  years,  had  been  devoted  and  successful.  Many 
were  the  admirers  and  friends  of  Bishop  Lee ;  and 
now  that  he  is  no  more  permitted  to  go  in  and  out 
among  us,  many  interesting  traits  of  character  and 
incidents  of  life  will  be  recalled  and  dwelt  upon. 


MINUTES    AND    RESOLUTIONS. 


\] 


The  Diocesan  Convention. 


At  the  meeting  of  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese 
in  St.  Thomas'  Church,  Newark,  on  June  ist,  1887, 
immediately  after  the  organization  was  completed, 
Mr.  E.  L.  Martin  referred  in  appropriate  terms  to 
the  death  of  the  late  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  and 
moved  that  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  by  the 
Chair  to  report  a  suitable  minute  for  the  action  of 
the  Convention,  which  motion  prevailed. 

The  President  appointed  as  the  Committee  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Smith  and  Gibson,  and  Messrs.  E.  L.  Martin, 
E.  T.  Warner  and  Edw.  Fowler,  M.D. 

At  the  evening  session,  immediately  after  the  Con- 
vention had  reassembled,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  from 
the  Committee  appointed  to  prepare  resolutions  in  re- 
lation to  the  death  of  Bishop  Lee,  presented  and  read 
to  the  Convention,  the  members  all  standing,  the 
report  as  follows : 

The  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware  assem- 
bled to-day  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  solemnity 
and  sadness.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
church,  we  meet  without  our  head.  The  illustrious 
and  beloved  man  of  God,  who  for  forty-six  years  has 
presided  over  the  deliberations  of  this  body,  the  Right 
Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  is  no  more  on  the 
earth.     His    stewardship,   so   faithfully  occupied,   has 

137 


I 


■n 


•II 


»■-«"'  ••  <^.,«»  - 


138 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


ii 


given  place  to  rest  and  reward,  and  the  higher  occupa- 
tion of  Heaven.     We  mourn  in  sore  bereavement  the 
irreparable  loss  of  his  presence,  friendship  and  counsel. 
Your  Committee  feel  the  impossibility  of  reviewing 
the  character  of  such  a  man,  in  the  small  compass 
of  this  minute.     Others  more  competent  have  already 
spoken.     The  memory  of  his  life  is  fresh  in  our  minds 
and  our  affections,   and  evokes  on  this  occasion  the 
deepest  reverence.      As  a  man   among  men,    a  man 
of  integrity,  truth  and  decision,  he  held  the  highest 
place,  and  his  presence  ever  inspired  confidence  and 
added  strength  ;  while  his  gentleness  and  unaffected 
kindness  touched  and  drew  to  him  the  hearts  of  all 
who  knew  him.     He  illustrated  and  beautified  every 
relation  and  station  of  life— as  citizen  and  patriot,  as 
scholar  and  theologian,  as  philanthropist  and  Bishop 
—he  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  those  whom  men  love 

to  honor. 

Upon  the  noble  foundation  of  this  great  man's 
character  a  finished  and  elegant  edifice  arose.  The 
costly  material  of  rare  natural  endowments  was  pre- 
pared and  enriched  by  profound  study  and  diligent 
industry  until  his  words,  his  writings,  and  his  life 
became  like  the  harmonious  parts  of  a  stately  Cathe- 
dral. 

Early  consecrating  himself  to  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  he  set  aside  the  allurements  of  worldly  ad- 
vancement  and  reward.  He  responded  to  the  call  of 
God,  and  just  fifty  years  ago  entered  as  an  humble 
laborer  into  his  Master's  vineyard.  Using  well  his 
office,   he  purchased  to  himself  a  good  degree.     He 


MINUTES  AND  RESGI^UTIONS.  ,.g 

became  an  able  Minister  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
a  faithful  pastor  to  the  flock.  By  faithfulness  in  that 
which  was  little,  he  proved  worthy  of  that  which 
was  great,  and  was  soon  rewarded  by  stewardship  in 
that  good  work  commended  of  the  Apostle,  and  be- 
came  an  honored  overseer  in  the  House  of  God. 
Here  in  the  higher  parliament  of  the  Church  he  was 
ever  an  able  legislator  and  a  wise  and  prudent  coun- 
sellor. He  was  a  Bisliop,  indeed,  of  the  primitive 
model,  **  blameless,  vigilant,  sober,  of  good  behavior, 
given  to  hospitality,  apt  to  teach,  patient,  having  a 
good  report  of  them  that  are  without,  adorning  the 
doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour  in  all  things." 

As  our  first  Bishop,  we  trusted  him,  honored  him, 
loved  him.  Presiding  over  our  counsels  for  so  many 
years,  we  came  to  regard  his  wide  learning,  ripe 
judgment,  and  calm  wisdom,  with  most  profound 
reverence.  Impartial  and  fair,  he  ruled  with  a  gentle- 
ness as  marked,  as  his  decisions  were  firm  and  just. 
Godly  in  life  and  holy  in  character,  he  set  an  ex- 
ample most  worthy  of  imitation.  Such  saintliness  of 
character  was  the  strong  band  that  linked  to  him, 
his  clergy,  his  parish,  and  his  people,  in  most  filial 
affection  and  reverence,  and  made  his  life  to  them  a 
blessing  and  an  inspiration. 

Abroad  as  well  as  at  home  he  commanded  the  praises 
of  men,  and  we  loved  to  know  of  the  high  honors  he 
everywhere  received.  His  worth,  his  dignity,  his  fame 
were  our  common  heritage  and  pride,  as  they  shed  a 
lustre  upon  the  position  he  held  among  us,  and  when 
he  passed  from  us  it  was  as  if  our  sun  had  set 


I 


I -O  MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 

In  thus  ending  a  well-rounded  life  of  fourscore  years, 
yet  with  undecaying  powers,  it  seemed  fitting  that  he 
should  finish  a  half-century  of  pastoral  labor  and  com- 
plete the  centenary  of  this  Diocese  ere  called  to  the 
exalted  and  glorious  employment  of  heaven.  He  has 
gone  from  us  to  ^Hhe  City  of  the  living  God,  the 
Heavenly  Jerusalem,  to  the  general  assembly  and 
church  of  the  first  bom,  and  to  spirits  of  just  men 

made  perfect." 

He  has  gone  from  us  and  we  feel  our  orphanage ; 
yet  we  rejoice  in  his  translation  and  gratefully  ac- 
knowledge the  legacy  he  has  left  us  of  his  blessing 
of   faithful   labor,   patient   endurance,   high    character 

and  holy  life. 

Your  committee,  in  closing,  would  offer  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  expresses  its  deep 
grief  at  the  bereavement  which  it  has  sustained  in 
the  removal  from  among  us  of  our  honored  and  be- 
loved chief  officer ;  that  his  absence  is  most  keenly 
felt  at  such  a  time  as  this ;  that  the  irreparable  loss 
is  a  personal  sorrow  to  us  all. 

Resolved,  That  the  memory  of  Alfred  Lee,  our  ven- 
erable and  saintly  Bishop,  shall  ever  be  cherished 
among  us  as  an  inspiration  and  example;  that  his 
name^'is,  and  always  will  be,  as  ointment  poured 
out ;  that  his  works  of  Christian  charity  and  benevo- 
lence form  his  best  monument ;  that  having  at  length 
entered  into  well-earned  rest  from  a  long  and  laborious 
life,  his   works  and  the  grateful  affection   of  his  co- 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


141 


laborers  and  the  many  beneficiaries  of  his  kindness, 
do  follow  him. 

Resolved,  That  this  memorial  be  spread  upon  the 
journal  and  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  family  of  our 
deceased  Bishop. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Edw.  L.  Martin,  the  following 
resolution  was  adopted,  unanimously  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Rectors  of  the  several  Parishes 
of  the  Diocese  be  requested  to  take  a  special  col- 
lection, on  some  Sunday  to  be  designated  by  the 
Standing  Committee,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a 
suitable  monument  over  the  grave  of  our  late  Bishop, 
as  a  testimonial  of  the  reverence  and  love  of  the 
people  for  him. 


The  Standing  Committee. 

Upon  hearing  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  death 
of  our  honored  Diocesan,  the  Standing  Committee 
met  on  the  15th  of  April,  1887,  in  the  Sunday-school 
room  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Wilmington,  when  the 
following  minute  of  respect  was  read  and  ordered  to 
be  entered  on  the  Records  of  the  Standing  Com- 
mittee : — 

The  Standing  Committee  of  the  Diocese  of  Dela- 
ware, oppressed  by  a  sense  of  the  great  bereavement 
which  the  whole  Church  has  sustained  in  the  removal 
of  their  beloved  and  honored  Diocesan,  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  from  his  earthly  labors 


i  1 


142 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


to  the  heavenly  rest,  would  place  upon  record  the 
sincere  expression  of  their  love  and  reverence  for  this 
eminent  man  of  God.  Distinguished  for  a  modesty 
which  was  equalled  only  by  his  exalted  worth,  we 
realize  that,  in  his  death,  we  have  lost  a  constant 
friend,  a  wise  teacher,  and  a  noble  pattern  of  the 
Christian  life.  To  the  simplicity  of  a  child  he  united 
the  experience  of  a  sage,  and  to  all  his  learning  he 
lent  the  charm  of  a  sympathizing  philanthropy.  As- 
sociated with  him  in  the  affairs  of  the  Diocese,  we 
mourn  the  loss  of  his  counsel  and  the  inspiration 
of  his  earnest  and  godly  guidance.  In  his  admiwis- 
tration  there  were  blended  the  gentleness  of  a  father 
and  the  courage  of  a  hero.  He  was  a  burning  and 
a  shining  light,  and  we  feel  the  chill  shadows  of  our 
orphaned  loneliness  creeping  upon  us,  as  we  bend  over 
the  bier  of  our  first  and  only  Bishop  of  Delaware. 

Bringing  to  the  administration  of  his  office  a  judicial 
mind,  a  wide  sympathy,  a  strong  character,  and  the 
grace  of  a  profound  personal  piety,  he  exerted  a  most 
benign  and  blessed  influence. 

Clear  in  his  convictions,  brave  in  his  utterances,  he 
made  duty  the  law  of  his  life.  Ever  ready  to  banish 
error  and  to  defend  the  purity  of  the  Church,  his 
authority  was  clothed  with  the  mantle  of  charity  and 
his  pastoral  office  was  arrayed  in  the  mingled  graces 
of  kindness  and  humility.  While  holding  the  highest 
place  in  the  Church,  he  bore  his  honors  so  meekly 
that  even  the  most  diffident  was  encouraged  to  ap- 
proach him  as  a  friend,  pastor,  teacher  and  Bishop. 
In  all  things  he  was    *a  pattern  of  good  works,   in 


/ 


/ 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


H3 


doctrine  showing  uncorruptness,  gravity,  sincerity, 
sound  speech,  that  could  not  be  condemned.*  The 
lustre  of  his  attainments  will  adorn  the  literature  of 
the  Church,  and  his  life  and  works  will  be  the  per- 
petual heritage  of  this  Diocese.  A  scholar,  Bishop, 
Saint, 

**  He  taught  us  how  to  live,  and  oh  too  high 
The  price  of  knowledge !  taught  us  how  to  die." 

His  influence  cannot  be  limited  to  his  time  or 
Diocese.  He  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  foremost 
men  in  the  councils  of  the  Church,  and  identified,  as 
a  controlling  spirit,  with  the  high  aims  and  large 
measures  of  the  most  distinctively  Christian  societies 
in  this  country  and  England.  The  Domestic  and 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  Church,  the  Institutions 
devoted  to  study  for  the  Sacred'  Ministry,  Biblical 
Scholarship,  large  enterprises  of  a  philanthropic  char- 
acter, both  in  and  out  of  the  Church,  and,  above  all, 
the  ministry  of  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed 
God,  have  lost  in  his  death  a  most  illustrious  orna- 
ment and  able  advocate.  His  life  covers  a  large  part 
of  the  history  of  the  Church  in  America.  Among  the 
great  names  which  have  adorned  her  annals,  none  will 
be  remembered  with  a  profounder  reverence  and  affec- 
tion than  that  of  Alfred  Lee.  With  our  brethren 
of  the  Diocese  and  the  beloved  family  of  our  Chief 
Pastor,  and  the  whole  Church,  we  are  bowed  in  a 
common  sorrow  and  invoke  the  supporting  grace  of 
the  God  of  all  consolation  for  us,  in  this  day  of  our 
sore  bereavement. 


I 


'44 


MINUTES  AND  RESOI.UTIONS. 


MINUTES  AND  RESOI.UTIONS. 


145 


Resolved^  That  the  above  be  published  in  the 
Church  papers,  and  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  family 
of  our  deceased   Bishop. 

The  Committee  met  on  April  25th,  1887,  to  confer 
with  a  committee  from  St.  Andrew's  Church,  respect- 
ing a  Memorial  Sermon,  to  be  preached  on  the  life 
and  character  of  our  late  honored  Diocesan.  Where- 
upon it  was 

Resolved^  To  extend  a  cordial  invitation  to  the  Rt 
Rev.  John  Williams,  S.T.D.,  LL.D.,  Bishop  of  Con- 
necticut, and  now  Presiding  Bishop,  to  preach  a  Me- 
morial Sermon  upon  the  life  and  character  of  Bishop 
Lee,  on  Thursday  evening,  June  2d,  next,  or  as  soon 
thereafter  as  may  suit  his  convenience,  in  St.  Andrew's 
Church. 


The  Bishops  and  Clergy. 

A  meeting  of  the  Bishops  and  other  clergy  was  held 
in  Trinity  Church,  Wilmington,  after  the  service  for 
the  burial  of  Bishop  Lee.  On  motion.  Bishop  Wil- 
liams, of  Connecticut,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and 
made  a  few  appropriate  remarks.  The  Rev.  Lewis 
W.  Gibson,  of  Dover,  President  of  the  Standing  Com- 
mittee, moved  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  draft 
suitable  resolutions.  The  chair  appointed  Bishop  Whit- 
aker,  of  Pennsylvania ;  Bishop  Paret,  of  Maryland ; 
Bishop  Peterkin,  of  West  Virginia ;  the  Rev.  T.  Gardi- 
ner Littell,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  Richard  Newton,  D.D. 


The  Bishop  of  New  York  moved  that  Bishop  Howe, 
of  Central  Pennsylvania,  be  requested  to  furnish  a 
copy  of  his  very  appropriate  remarks,  at  St.  Andrew's 
Church,  for  publication.  The  committee  subsequently 
prepared  the  following  resolutions  : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  the  Right  Reverend 
Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Bishop  of  Delaware  and 
Presiding  Bishop,  one  has  been  taken  from  earth  for 
whose  virtues  and  godly  life  we  give  humble  thanks 
to  Almighty  God. 

Resolved,  That  the  Church  has  lost  one  in  whom 
religious  belief  was  beautifully  exemplified  in  gentle- 
ness, humility  and  Christian  courtesy  in  the  councils 
of  the  Church,  in  the  daily  walk  and  in  the  home. 

Resolved,  That  in  his  quiet  charities,  his  alacrity  to 
help  and  elevate  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  his 
wisdom,  his  honest  and  tenacious  adherence  to  deliber- 
ately matured  convictions,  and  his  unfaltering  courage 
in  modestly  advocating  them,  he  deservedly  won  the 
reverence  of  men  of  every  name,  and  has,  indeed, 
left  the  world   the  better  for  his  having  lived. 

Resolved,  That  we  shall  long  remember  him  as  one 
who  has  died  as  he  lived,  in  the  communion  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  in  the  confidence  of  a  certain  faith, 
in  the  comfort  of  a  reasonable,  religious  and  holy  hope, 
in  favor  with  his  God,  and  in  perfect  charity  with  the 
world. 

Resolved,  That  to  his  bereaved  family  and  Diocese 
we  extend  our  fullest  and  most  heartfelt  sympathy. 


vi 


146 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


The  Vestry  of  St.  Andrew's  Church. 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


147 


A  special  meeting  of  the  Vestry  of  St.  Andrew's 
Church  was  held  April  13th,  1887,  at  the  residence 
of  E.  T.  Warner,  Esq.  Present,  the  Rev.  Chas.  E. 
Murray,  and  Messrs.  E.  T.  Warner,  Geo.  H.  Bates, 
W.  Thomson,  Dr.  C.  Elton  Buck,  Geo.  W.  Baker  and 
A.  S.  Elliott,  the  Rev.  Chas.  E.  Murray  presiding. 

The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas,  In  the  providence  of  God,  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  the  Bishop  of  this  Diocese,  and  the 
beloved  Rector  of  this  Church  for  the  long  period 
of  forty-five  years,  has  been  called  from  the  scene 
of  his  earthly  labors  to  the  rest  that  remaineth  for 
the  people  of  God  ;    therefore^ 

Resolved,  That  while  we  bow  in  reverent  submission 
to  the  will  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  we  desire  to 
express  our  sense  of  the  irreparable  loss  we  have 
sustained  as  a  congregation,  and  our  heartfelt  ac- 
knowledgments of  the  manifold  blessings  which,  by 
divine  grace  through  his  prolonged  ministry,  have 
been  bestowed   upon   us. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  the  saintliness  of  his 
life  and  conversation  one  of  the  brightest  examples 
of  the  ministerial  character— a  living  epistle,  that 
might  be  known  and  read  of  all  men,  in  which  the 
life  and  love  of  Christ  were  so  manifested,  shining 
through  the  veil  of  his  mortal  flesh,  that  all  who 
knew  him  could  not  fail  to  see  that  he  had  been 
with  Jesus  and  had  learned  of  Him. 


Resolved,  That  as  we  recall  his  venerable  form,  that 
moved  among  us  with  so  much  of  the  gentleness 
of  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  we  sorrow  that  we 
shall  see  his  face  no  more,  and  pray  that  we  may 
have  grace   to  follow  him   as  he  followed   Christ. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  our  beloved  Father 
in  God,  not  only  is  this  Diocese  smitten,  but  the 
whole  Church  mourns  the  loss  of  one  of  the  best 
and  ablest  of  her  Bishops,  one  of  the  noblest  and 
purest  of  her  apostolic  exemplars ;  an  overseer  of 
manly  strength  and  mental  power,  of  unrivaled  fulness 
of  learning  and  knowledge,  of  soundness  of  wisdom  and 
ripeness  of  judgment,  of  breadth  and  comprehensive- 
ness of  view,  of  large  and  loving  charity,  of  firmness 
of  principle  and  zeal  for  the  truth,  of  self-denying 
and  self-forgetting  devotion  to  the  service  of  Christ 
and   His  Church. 

Resolved,  That  we  convey  to  his  family  the  assur- 
ance of  our  profound  sympathy  and  earnest  prayers 
that  God,  even  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Father  of  mercies  arid  the  God  of  all  comfort, 
who  comforteth  us  in  all  our  tribulations,  may  sustain 
them   in   this   bitter  sorrow. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent 
to  the  family  of  our  beloved  Rector,  and  that  they 
be  inserted  in  the  church  papers  and  in  the  daily 
papers  of  our  city. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Bates,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Murray 
was  requested  to  appoint  a  committee  of  three,  to  sug- 
gest, at  the  next  meeting,  a  suitable  and  appropriate 


.  I 


148 


MINUTES   AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


memorial,  to  be  erected  in  the  Church,  to  our  beloved 

Bishop. 
Messrs.    Warner  and  Thomson  and  Dr.  Buck  were 

appointed  as  above. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Bates,  the  committee  were  author- 
ized to  make  some  suggestions  for  a  memorial  for  our 
late  Senior  Warden,  Mr.  Gregg  Chandler. 

It  was  suggested  that  Bishop  Williams  be  invited  to 
deliver  a  Memorial  Sermon  at  some  future  day. 

Also,  the  Wardens  were  requested  to  have  the  church 
properly  draped  for  the  period  of  thirty  days,  or  as 
much  longer  as  they  may,  on  consultation  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Murray,  determine. 

Messrs.  Hoffecker,  Baker,  Thomson  and  Elliott,  of  the 
Vestry,  and  Dr.  Horace  Burr  and  S.  M.  Curtis,  of  the 
Standing  Committee,   were   appointed   Bearers  at  the 

funeral. 

On  motion,   adjourned. 

(Signed)  Alfred  S.  Elliott, 

Secretary. 


The  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  Wilmington. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Rector  and  Vestry  of  Trinity 
Parish,  held  on  Monday,  April  18,  1887,  the  following 
preamble  and  resolutions  were  adopted : 

Whereas,  God,  in  His  wise  providence,  having 
removed  from  this  world  the  soul  of  the  beloved 
Bishop  of  this  Diocese,  the  Rt  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  we  desire  to  express  our  sense  of  the  great 
loss  sustained  by  the  Church,   the  Diocese  and  the 


minutes  and  resolutions. 


149 


community.  We,  however,  bow  in  hurnble  submission 
to  the  will  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  doth  not 
willingly  afflict  or  grieve  the  children  of  men. 

Resolved^  That  we  deeply  feel  the  bereavement  of 
the  American  Church  in  the  loss  of  the  Primate,  who 
has  filled  this  high  office  with  so  much  dignity,  wis- 
dom, honor,  both  to  himself  and  the  entire  Church. 

Resolved^  That  we  sincerely  deplore  his  removal  as 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  upon  which  his  fatherly  care 
and  love  have  been  bestowed  so  freely  for  so  many 
years,  and  we  feel  that  words  fail  adequately  to  ex- 
press the  deep  love  felt  towards  our  late  Father  in 
God  by  the  loyal  people  he  has  served  so  faithfully 
and  wisely. 

Resolved^  That  we  tender  our  earnest  prayers  and 
sincere  sympathy  with  the  bereaved  family  in  this 
their  day  of  affliction,  assuring  them  that  these  words 
are  but  a  meagre  expression  of  the  deep  feelings  of 
our  hearts. 

Resolved^  That  we  desire  to  express  our  sympathy 
with  our  sister  Parish  of  St.  Andrew's,  over  which  he 
has  been  a  spiritual  guide  for  so  many  years  of  inti- 
mate and   affectionate  relationship. 

Resolved^  That  the  community  loses  one  whose 
influence  for  good  cannot  be  justly  estimated,  and 
one  whose  death  will  be  greatly  felt  by  the  large 
number  of  citizens  and  personal  friends  who  so  truly 
loved  and  venerated  one  whose  daily  walk  and  con- 
versation were  a  living  epistle  of  true  piety  and  manly 
Christianity,  read  of  all  men  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact 


I50 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


Resolved,  That  as  Rector  and  Vestry  of  this  old 
and  historic  Parish,  we  feel  a  sense  of  personal  be- 
reavement in  the  departure  of  the  head  of  the  Church 
in  this  Diocese,  which  only  time  can  assuage,  and 
that  '*we  bless  Thy  holy  name  for  Thy  servant  de- 
parted this  life  in  Thy  faith  and  fear;  beseeching 
Thee  to  give  us  grace  so  to  follow  his  good  example, 
that,  with  him,  we  may  be  partakers  of  Thy  heavenly 
kingdom." 


Holy  Trinity  Guild. 

At  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of  Holy  Trinity 
Guild  of  the  Old  Swedes'  Church,  held  April  i2th, 
1887,  the  following  tribute  of  respect  was  adopted 
by  a  rising  vote : 

The  members  of  Holy  Trinity  Guild  have  just 
heard,  with  deep  sorrow,  the  sad  news  of  the  death 
of  the  venerable  and  beloved  Bishop  of  this  Diocese, 
the  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.  As  loyal 
children  of  the  church  we  wish  to  express  our  sense 
of  the  great  loss  of  the  church  in  Delaware,  in  being 
thus  bereaved  of  the  chief  pastor  who  has  guided 
and  governed  us  for  so  many  years.  To  successive 
generations  in  this  State  and  this  city  the  name  of 
Bishop  Lee  has  been  a  household  word.  To  the 
stricken  family  we  extend  the  assurance  of  our  sym- 
pathy and  prayers  in  their  hour  of  trial.  Trusting 
and  believing  that  the  soul  of  our  beloved  father  and 
friend  is  at  rest  in  paradise,  we  pray  that  **we,  with 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


151 


him,  may  have  our  perfect  consummation  and  bliss  in 
God's  eternal  and  everlasting  glory." 

Weston  C.  Boyd,  Secretary. 


Trinity  Chapel  Guild. 

The  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted 
at  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of  Trinity  Chapel 
Guild,  April  13th,  1887,  and  the  Secretary  was  in- 
structed to  send  a  copy  to  the  family  of  our  late 
Bishop : — 

With  great  regret  we  learn  of  the  death  of  our 
Father  in  God,  the  esteemed  and  beloved  Bishop  of 
the  Diocese,  the  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  S.T.D., 
LL.D. 

As  our  heavenly  Father,  in  His  infinite  wisdom, 
has  thoueht  best  to  take  our  beloved  and  venerated 
Bishop  to  his  eternal  home,  we  can  but  bow  in  hum- 
ble submission  to  His  blessed  will,  yet  we  desire  to 
express  and  record  our  deep  and  sincere  sorrow  at 
the  loss  we  sustain,  as  members  of  the  Church  and 
of  this  community,  in  the  removal  of  one  who  for 
many  years  has  been  a  chief  shepherd  in  the  Church 
of  our  blessed  Lord,  and  a  prominent  and  highly- 
honored  resident  of  this  city,  being  greatly  venerated 
and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him ;  and  further, 
we  desire  to  tender  our  sincere  prayers  and  heart- 
felt sympathy  to  his  bereaved  family  in  this,  their 
hour  of  sorrow.  We  give  Thee  hearty  thanks  for  the 
good  example  of  Thy  servant,  who  having  finished  his 


152 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


course  in  faith,   does  now  rest  from  his  labors,   and 
is  numbered  with  Thy  saints  in  glory  everlasting. 

Attest, 

Edward  T.  Canby,  Secretary. 


Immanuel  Chapel,  Highlands,  Wilmington. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  Immanuel  Chapel, 
Highlands,  held  Tuesday  evening,  May  3d,  1887,  ^^^ 
following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  the  Divine  Providence  to 
remove  from  our  midst  our  beloved  Bishop,  Alfred 
Lee, 

Resolved^  That  we  mourn  his  loss  as  Bishop,  teacher 
and  friend,  and  feel  that  to  us,  as  well  as  to  the 
people  of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware,  his  place  can 
never  be  filled.  He  was  ever  ready  with  wise  and 
kindly  words,  to  assist  and  advise  us  in  the  affairs  of 
this  Chapel,  and  especially  when,  nearly  three  years 
ago,  he  drew  up  the  deed  of  trust  by  which 
the  property  upon  which  the  Chapel  was  built  was 
placed  in  possession  of  the  Trustees ;  and  we  can 
testify  as  to  the  deep  and  sincere  interest  he  felt 
and  always  expressed  in  the  welfare  of  Immanuel 
Chapel.  When  the  Chapel  was  consecrated,  in  the 
year  1885,  by  our  dear  Bishop,  he  expressed  the 
pleasure  it  was  to  him  to  perform  the  act  among  those 
with  whom  he  had  been  associated  in  friendship  and 


MINUTES  and  resolutions. 


153 


aflfection   for  many  years.     We  extend  to  his  sorrow- 
ing family  our  deep  sympathy  in  their  great  loss. 

Resolved^  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent 
to  his  family,  and  that  they  be  published  in  the  Wil- 
mington daily  papers, 

J.  Hetherton, 

Edwin  Ainsworth, 
Wm.  Watmough, 
W.  R.  Brinckl]^, 
John  Bancroft,  Sec'y. 


St.  John's  Church,  Wilmington. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  vestry  of  St.  John's 
Church,  Wilmington,  held  on  the  evening  of  Thurs- 
day, April  14th,  1887,  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted  : 

Whereas,  On  the  twelfth  day  of  April,  instant, 
the  venerable  and  holy  Bishop  of  this  Diocese,  the 
Right  Reverend  Alfred  Lee,  departed  hence  by  Divine 
appointment  to  his  eternal  reward. 

Resolved^  That,  while  our  loss  is  his  great  gain,  his 
death  comes  to  us  as  a  keen  personal  bereavement  and 
sorrow.  The  transparent  purity  of  his  life,  his  fervent 
zeal  in  the  cause  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  his  rare  spiritu- 
ality and  piety,  his  great  learning  and  ability,  his 
moral  courage  in  the  support  of  his  convictions  of 
right,  and  his  modesty  and  gentleness  of  manner,  were 
such  as  to  command  our  unbounded  respect,  admira- 
tion and  affection. 


154 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


155 


Resolved,  That  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States  of  America,  has,  by  the  death  of 
her  Presiding  Bishop,  lost  one  of  her  most  useful  and 
illustrious  prelates,  and  that  this  Diocese  has  thereby 
been  deprived  of  an  eminently  faithful  and  wise  coun- 
sellor and  guide. 

Resolved,  That  by  the  death  of  our  beloved  Bishop 
the  whole  community  has  lost  a  patriotic  and  large- 
spirited  citizen,  who,  in  time  of  civil  commotion  and 
grave  national  peril,  firmly  upheld  the  constituted 
authorities,  who  has  earnestly  and  successfully  labored 
to  promote  the  education  and  elevation  of  the  colored 
masses  in  this  country,  and  generally  to  advance  the 
welfare  of  his  fellow-men  in  all  lands,  and  who,  in  all 
respects,  has  fully  discharged  the  duties  of  an  enlight- 
ened Christian  citizenship. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  profound  sympathy  to 
the  family  of  the  deceased  in  their  great  sorrow  ;  that 
a  duly  certified  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted 
to  them,  and  that  the  vestry  of  St  John's  Church 
attend  the  funeral  in  a  body. 


Christ  Church,  Christiana  Hundred. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Vestry  of  Christ  Church,  Chris- 
liana  Hundred,  held  April  24th,  1887,  the  following 
minute  was  adopted  : 

The  Wardens  and  Vestry  of  Christ  Church,  Chris- 
tiana Hundred,  desire  to  place  on  record  their  sense 
of  the  great  loss   they,   in   common   with   the  whole 


Diocese  and  the  Church  at  large,  have  sustained  in 
the  death  of  their  honored  and  beloved  Bishop,  Right 
Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

We  claim  a  peculiar  relationship  to  our  revered 
Chief  Pastor.  This  parish  owes  its  inception  to  his 
kindly  influence,  and  has  grown  to  what  it  has  be- 
come largely  under  his  fostering  oversight. 

Those  who  first  proposed  the  formation  of  this 
Parish  were  members  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Wil- 
mington, and  consulted  Bishop  Lee  before  taking  any 
steps  toward  it. 

For  a  period  of  eighteen  months  Bishop  Lee  gave 
his  personal  services,  at  stated  intervals,  nearly  every 
month  of  that  time  to  the  pastoral  care  of  this  Con- 
gregation, and  preached  as  often  as  occasion  pennitted. 
His  assistant,  the  Rev.  S.  C.  Brinckle,  was  mission- 
ary in  the  Hundred,  and  afterward  the  first  Rector 
of  Christ  Church.  The  Rev.  W.  A.  Newbold,  another 
assistant  of  Bishop  Lee,  became  the  second  Rector  of 
this  Parish. 

Since  the  establishment  of  this  Parish,  the  annual 
visits  of  our  lamented  Bishop  were  always  occasions 
of  peculiar  pleasure.  Such  benignity  of  manners ; 
such  gentle  saintliness  of  character  marked  his  bearing, 
that  he  was  regarded  not  only  as  a  Bishop,  but  as 
indeed  a  Father  in  God.  His  hands  were  laid  in 
Apostolic  blessing  upon  the  head  of  every  one  con- 
firmed within  these  walls.  His  words  of  counsel  and 
instruction  were  listened  to  with  reverence,  and  his 
spiritual  admonitions  came  with  special  force  and 
unction,  as  from  lips  which  breathed  the  tenderest  love 


'    )J 


vM 


\ 


i'' 


<♦ 


156 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONa 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


^57 


and  most  unaffected  piety.  His  presence  was  a  ser- 
mon and  a  blessing.  As  one  has  said  of  him,  **He 
lived  in  the  faith,  and  in  the  faith  has  died,  leaving 
behind  a  memory  redolent  with  goodness  and  kind- 
ness and  love." 

We  mourn  in  unfeigned  sorrow  this  sore  bereave- 
ment which  has  fallen  upon  ourselves  and  the  Dio- 
cese, and  not  less  upon  his  afflicted  family.  We  truly 
prize  the  legacy  he  has  left  us  of  a  holy  example 
and  godly  precepts.  Yet  we  sorrow  not  for  htm.  He 
is  beyond  our  sympathy.  His  faithful  labor  is  ended, 
but  his  work  remains  in  our  memory  and  our  affec- 
tions. He  has  entered  into  the  reward  and  rest  of 
those  who  have  died  in  the  Lord,  and  whose  works 
follow  them.  Upon  his  family,  ourselves  and  the  be- 
reaved Church,  we  invoke  the  Divine  blessing  and 
consolation,  and  pray  that,  like  him,  we  may  be  fol- 
lowers of  those  who,  through  faith  and  patience, 
inherit  the  promises. 

We  extend  to  the  family  of  our  departed  Bishop 
the  assurance  of  our  sincere  affection  and  sympathy. 
This  minute  is  ordered  to  be  spread  upon  the  records 
of  the  Parish,  and  a  copy  sent  to  the  family  of  the 
deceased. 


Immanuel  Church,  New  Castle. 

The  venerable  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  American 
Church,  our  own  beloved  and  honored  Diocesan,  the 
Right  Rev.   Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  having,   upon 


\ 


s 


Tuesday,  April  I2th,  1887,  in  the  eightieth  year  of 
his  age  and  the  forty-sixth  of  his  Episcopate,  entered 
into  the  rest  of  the  blessed — full  of  days,  spiritual 
riches  and  honors, — 

We,  the  Rector,  Church  Wardens  and  Vestrymen 
of  Immanuel  Church,  New  Castle,  Delaware,  leaving 
to  others  to  testify  the  appreciation  due  to  him  in 
the  wider  sphere  of  his  usefulness  and  weighty  re- 
sponsibilities, desire  to  give  expression  for  the  congre- 
gation as  well  as  ourselves,  to  the  affectionate  venera- 
tion with  which  we  mourn  our  own  loss  in  him  as 
our  Bishop,  and  our  great  respect  and  admiration  for 
his  saintliness  of  character,  his  Christ^like  gentleness 
and  humility. 

His  prolonged  life  and  eventful  Episcopate  are  of 
themselves  remarkable  ;  the  loftiness  of  character  and 
manifold  attainments  and  abilities  with  which  he  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  his  great  Stewardship  must  com- 
mand the  admiration  of  all.  They  are  to  ourselves 
a  rich  heritage,  and  will  ever  enshrine  in  our  memo- 
ries the  name  of  our  first  and  departed  Bishop. 

We  observe  as  peculiarly  appropriate  that  whilst 
we  ** sorrow  not  even  as  others  which  have  no  hope,'' 
his  translation  to  Paradise  is  sweetly  in  accord  with 
the  Easter  strains  of  triumph,  in  the  midst  of  which 
he  has  been  called  up  higher — and  we  pray  our 
Heavenly  Father  that  light  and  peace  may  be  his 
eternal  portion. 

Our  prayer,  moreover,  is  that  the  great  Head  of 
the  Church  will  grant  us  of  His  love  and  mercy,  that 
the  seed  sown  here  through  so  long  and  faithful  an 


I    :( 


158 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


Episcopate  may  spring  up  into  an  abundant  harvest 
of  eternal  treasure  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
building  up  of  His  holy  Church,  especially  in  our 
own  Diocese. 

To  the  Bishop's  family  we  tender  our  most  sincere 
sympathies  in  this,  our  common  sorrow,  and  as  fur- 
ther tokens  of  respect  and  sympathy,  we  order  the 
Church  to  be  suitably  draped,  the  Church  bell  to  be 
tolled  at  the  hour  of  the  burial,  this  minute  to  be 
spread  upon  the  records  of  the  Parish  and  read  to  the 
congregation  upon  Sunday  next,  and  a  copy  duly  cer- 
tified to  be  sent  to  the  Bishop's  family. 

P.    B.    LiGHTNER, 

Rector  of  Immanuel  Church,  &c. 
Attest : 
L.  E.  EuASON,  Secretary. 


St.  Anne's  Church,  Middletown. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Vestry  of  St.  Anne's  Parish, 
Middletown,  Delaware,  held  on  April  15th,  1887,  the 
following  preamble  and  resolution  were  unanimously 
adopted  : 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  take 
out  of  this  world,  the  soul  of  the  Right  Rev.  Alfred 
Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  who  for  forty-five  years  has  been 
the  revered  and  beloved  first  Bishop  of  this  Diocese  of 
Delaware,  and  for  some  three  years  past  the  Presiding 
Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  these 
United  States, 


minutes  and  resolutions. 


159 


Resolved^  That  while  we,  the  Rector  and  Vestry  of 
St  Anne's  Parish,  desire  reverently  and  submissively 
to  bow  to  this  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence,  yet 
we  feel  deeply,  and  mourn  the  loss  of  one  who,  for  so 
many  years,  has  been  our  wise,  exemplary  and  faithful 
Bishop.  And  we  also  hereby  extend  to  his  bereaved 
family  our  affectionate  sympathy  in  this  day  of  their 
sorrow,  and  pray  that  the  consolations  of  that  gospel, 
which  their  honored  father  so  ably  preached  and  so  well 
illustrated  in  his  life,  may  abundantly  rest  upon  them. 

Resolved^  That  a  copy  of  this  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions be  entered  on  the  Parish  Record  and  sent  to  the 
family  of  our  deceased  Bishop,  and  printed  in  the  local 

papers. 

Joseph  Beers,  Rector. 

H.  A.  Nowland,  Clerk  of  the  Vestry. 


Christ  Church,  Dover. 

At  the  stated  meeting  of  the  Vestry  of  Christ 
Church,  Dover,  held  May  5th, — being  the  first  meet- 
ing since  the  death  of  Bishop  Lee, — the  following 
minute  was  presented  by  Chief  Justice  Comegys,  and 
unanimously  adopted : 

The  Rector,  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of  Christ 
Church  Parish,  Dover,  hereby  place  on  record  their 
declaration  of  grief  at  the  death  of  the  Right  Rev- 
erend Alfred  Lee,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware, 
and  as  a  fitting  mode  of  expressing  their  sense  of  his 
worth,  do  resolve  as  follows : 


t6o 


MINUTES  AND  RESOI.UTIONS. 


/ 


That  in  their  judgment  he  was  a  man  of  deep 
learning  and  extraordinary  piety,  having  a  perfect 
sense  of  the  relation  he  bore  to  his  Master  and  to  the 
Church,  in  whose  service  he  had  attained  the  highest 
ecclesiastical  honor. 

That  his  venerable  form,  mild,  gentle  face,  win- 
ning softness  of  voice  and  unifoim  courtesy  to  all  who 
approached  him,  and  with  whom  he  was  in  any  wise 
associated,  won  for  him  that  tender  regard  rarely  secured 
by  any  one,  but  which  was  freely  yielded  to  him. 

That  we  fervently  hope  that  the  successor  of  Bishop 
Lee  in  his  high  office  may  keep  his  example  of  Chris- 
tian devotion  and  solicitous  concern  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Church  constantly  before  him,  and  push  forward  the 
great  work  of  turning  men  to  the  contemplation  of  their 
relation  to  their  Creator,  which  he  had  so  much  at  heart. 
Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  be  offered  and  read 
in  the  coming  Convention,  to  be  held  at  Newark,  and 
that  a  copy  be  sent  by  the  Rector  to  the  family  of 
the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  be  furnished  to  each 
of  the  newspapers  in  Dover  for  publication. 

Lewis  W.  Gibson,  Rector. 
Attest : 
James  Kirk,  Secretary. 


/ 


Christ  Church,  Milford. 

At  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Rector,  Church  Wardens 
and  Vestr>'men  of   Christ  Church,   Milford,   held    on 


V 


»» 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


i6l 


Wednesday,  April  13th,  1887,  the  following  resolution 
was  unanimously  adopted : 

The  Rector,  Church  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of 
Christ  Church,  Milford,  herewith  extend  their  sym- 
pathy to  the  family  of  our  deceased  Bishop  and  Father 
in  God. 

James  C.  Kerr,  Rector. 

Nathan  Pratt,  Sen.  Warden. 

Henry  R0L1.E. 

C.  J.  Harrington. 

R.  Y.  Watson,  Jun.  Warden. 

Isaac  S.  Truitt,  Clerk. 


St.  Paul's  Church,  Georgetown. 

Resolved,  That  we,  in  common  with  the  clergy  and 
laity  of  this  Diocese,  mourn  the  great  loss  which  we 
have  sustained  in  the  death  of  our  venerable  and  be- 
loved Bishop,  the  late  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee  ;  that  the 
noble  virtues  and  Christian  piety  so  prominent  in  his 
life ;  the  great  learning  which  he  had  acquired,  and 
that  high  order  of  wisdom  with  which  he  was  so 
richly  endowed ;  his  energetic  defence  of  truth  and 
Christian  doctrines ;  his  long,  honorable  and  well- 
merited  position  and  prominence  in  that  branch  of  the 
Christian  Church  to  which  he  had  so  many  years  ago 
consecrated  his  life,  render  his  death  lamentable,  not 
only  to  the  Diocese  of  Delaware,  but  to  the  whole 
Anglican  communion. 


l62 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


\i 


/Resolved,  That  after  so  many  years  of  acquaintance 
and  association  with  our  departed  Bishop,  we,  with  a 
deep  sense  of  our  bereavement,  bear  glad  testimony  to 
his  godly  life,  earnest  Christian  zeal  in  his  labors  in 
this  Diocese,  and  his  unswerving  fidelity  to  his  Church ; 
that  we  desire  to  place  upon  the  records  of  our  Parish 
these  resolutions,  our  feeble  estimate  of  his  high  char- 
acter and  worth. 

Resolved^  That  these  resolutions  be  published  in  the 
Churchman,  in  the  papers  of  this  town,  and  entered 
upon  the  minutes  of  the  Vestry,  and  that  a  copy  be 
sent  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

Wm.  H.  Boyce, 
D.  T.  Marvel, 
Chas.  L.  Moore, 
Committee,  Vestry  of  St.  PauVs  Church,  Georgetown, 
Delaware. 


Board  of  Managers  of  the  Domestic  and  For- 
eign Missionary  Society. 

New  York,  April  14th,  1887. 

Immediately  upon  the  assembling  of  the  Board  of 
Managers  in  stated  meeting,  on  Wednesday,  April 
13th,  the  General  Secretary  announced  to  the  Board 
the  death  of  its  President,  the  Right  Reverend  Alfred 
Lee,  D.D,  LL.D.,  Presiding  Bishop,  at  his  residence 
in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  on  the  previous  day. 

Whereupon,  by  resolution,  a  special  committee  was 
appointed  to  prepare  a  minute  to  be  spread  upon  the 
records  of  the  meeting  with  respect  to  the  decease  of 
the  Presiding  Bishop. 


' 


1: 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


163 


Later  in  session  the  Committee  presented  the  fol- 
lowing minute,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Board  by  a 
rising  vote : 

Intelligence  having  been  received  of  the  death  of 
the  Right  Reverend  Alfred  Lee,  Doctor  in  Divinity 
and  Laws,  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  Church,  and  in 
virtue  of  his  office  President  also  of  this  Board,  we, 
his  associates,  profoundly  sensible  of  our  great  loss, 
desire  to  place  on  record,  without  delay,  words  that 
shall,  in  some  measure,  express  the  reverence  and  af- 
fection in  which  we  hold  the  person  and  shall  always 
hold  the  memory  of  our  late  Father  in  God. 

As  a  theologian  Bishop  Lee  was  distinguished  for 
sound  scholarship,  a  wise  reticence  and  a  generous 
charity  towards  the  opinions  and  beliefs  of  others. 
As  a  prelate  he  governed  prudently,  with  no  touch  of 
arrogance,  holding  a  firm  hand  when  need  required, 
and  ever  showing  himself,  in  gentleness,  in  humility, 
in  calnmess  and  in  long-suffering  patience,  a  whole- 
some example  to  the  flock  of  Christ. 

That  the  cause  of  Missions  lay  very  near  his 
heart  was  abundantly  evidenced  by  the  assiduity  with 
which,  long  after  the  infirmities  of  age  had  begun  to 
settle  upon  him,  he  watched  the  work  at  home  and 
abroad,  giving  it  counsel  and  guidance,  as  occasion 
called,  keenly  observant  of  the  signs  of  the  times, 
and  quick  to  notice  God's  opportunities. 

Through  *the  grave  and  gate  of  death'  he  has 
entered  while  the  Easter  prayers  are  still  fresh  upon 
our  lips  to  the  rest  that  remaineth  for  faithful  and 
true  service. 


t: 


I 


I 


.  MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 

We  thank  God  for  the  rich  inheritance  of  his 
memory,  and  from  the  stimulus  of  his  example  gather 
a  new  courage  for  the  work  entrusted  to  us. 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


165 


Trustees  and  Overseers  of  the  Divinity  School 

OF  THE  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 

in  Philadelphia. 

From  the  inception  of  the  Divinity  School,  in  the 
year  1862,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  Bishop  Lee  was  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  and  its  presidmg 
officer,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee  of  the  joint  Boards  of  Trustees  and  Overseers.     In 
the    discharge  of  his    duties    in    these    relations    his 
presence  among  us  was  a  frequent  occurrence,  and  one 
always  desired.      As  a  counsellor,   he  was  eminently 
judicious  and  prudent,  while  we  felt  that  the  grace  o 
God  was  with  him.      He  was  a  man  who  deeply  felt 
the  solemnity  of  the  ministerial  office,  which  he  never 
failed  to  impress  on  those  who  were  going  forth  to 
that  office  from  this  seat  of  preparatory  training.     In 
his  blameless  walk  and  conversation  he  was  a  pattern 
to  all,  and,  in  his  high  place,  a  bright  and  a  shining 
lieht      For  all   that  gentleness,   meekness  and  pie  y 
which  were  so  conspicuous  in  him,  and  so  admirably 
blended  with  intellectual  vigor  and  strength  of  pur- 
pose,  we  bless  God,  and  pray  that  there  may  be  many 
L;  like  successors  to  him  in  the  chie    mmis try  of 
the  Church  ;  of  that  ministry  he  made  full  proof,  and 
without  doubt  has  now  gone  to  his  reward. 


"They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of 
the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

Extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  Trustees  and 
Overseers  of  the  Divinity  School  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Philadelphia,  June,   1887. 

Jno.  a.  Childs,  Secretary. 


Clergy  Relief  Fund. 

The  Trustees  of  the  Clergy  Relief  Fund  desire 
to  place  on  record  a  brief  memorial  minute  to  their 
late  President,  the  Right  Rev.  Alfred  I^e,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  Bishop  of  Delaware  and  Presiding  Bishop  of 
the  Church. 

Notwithstanding  his  extreme  age  and  the  distance  of 
his  home  from  the  usual  place  of  meeting,  his  pres- 
ence was  always  to  be  relied  upon,  and  the  Trust 
committed  to  our  care  had  an  abiding-place  in  the 
deepest  sympathies  of  his  heart. 

When  the  resources  of  the  fund  were  in  special 
need,  his  earnest  appeals  to  the  Church  at  large  al- 
ways brought  a  generous  response;  and  the  special 
contributions  which  his  words  inspired  carried  com- 
fort and  relief  to  many  a  needy  recipient. 

His  last  official  act  in  connection  with  this  Board 
was  to  prepare  the  Triennial  Report  to  the  General 
Convention,  in  which,  with  masterly  skill,  he  set  forth 
the  claim  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who 
had  given  their  lives  to  the  service  of  the  Church; 


i66 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


167 


t 


and  if  his  words  could  reach  the  entire  Church,  they 
would  be  a  clarion  call  to  every  member  thereof  to 
aid  in  placing  this  sacred  Trust  in  its  true  position  of 
eminence  among  the  great  charities  of  the  Church. 

In  other  relations  of  Episcopal  duty  he  stood  in 
the  front  rank  among  the  prelates  of  the  Church  for 
honest  devotion  to  his  convictions  of  truth  and  for 
intellectual  power  in  defending  those  convictions.  But 
in  the  transactions  of  this  Board  were  revealed  also  a 
tenderness  of  heart  and  a  depth  of  sympathy  with  the 
suffering  quite  as  great  as  his  intellectual  power. 

As  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  he  came 
in  personal  contact  with   the   applications   for  relief, 
and    his    greatest   sorrow— a  sorrow  shared    by  every 
member  of  this  Board— was  the  frequent  necessity  of 
denying  the  applications  because  of  the  limited  means 

in  our  treasury. 

His  memory  will  be  revered  by  us  who  knew  him 
well ;  and  the  record  of  his  blameless  life  will  be  the 
precious  heritage  of  the  entire  Church. 

H.  C.  POTTER,  1  Committee. 

William  A.  Snively,  J 


Evangelical  Education  Society. 

On  Thursday  afternoon,  April  14th,  1887,  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Evangelical 
Education  Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
was  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  the  Right  Rev. 


O.  W.  Whittaker  in  the  chair,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robert 
C.  Matlack  acting  as  Secretary. 

The  Secretary  announced,  with  unfeigned  sorrow, 
the  death  of  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Bishop  of  Delaware,  the  Presiding  Bishop  of  the 
Church,  and  for  many  years  an  active  officer  and 
most  devoted  and  generous  friend  of  the  Society.  On 
the  motion  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richard  Newton,  it  was 

Resolved^  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to 
attend  the  funeral  of  the  Bishop,  and  also  to  enter 
upon  the  minutes  of  the  Society  a  suitable  testimony 
of  our  appreciation  of  his  lovely  character  and  ines- 
timable services  to  the  Church,  and  to  forward  a  copy 
of  the  same  to  his  family,  assuring  them  of  our  deep 
sympathy  with  them  in  their  great  bereavement. 

The  chair  named  on  the  committee  the  Rev.  Drs. 
Richard  Newton,  D.  S.  Miller,  Robert  C.  Matlack, 
the  Rev.  W.  M.  Jefferis  and  Mr.  G.  B.  Godfrey. 
The  committee  made  the  following  minute : 
The  Evangelical  Education  Society  feels  that  in 
the  life  and  character  of  this  saintly  man,  God  has  be- 
stowed on  our  Church  one  of  His  choicest  blessings. 
Our  warmest  thanks  are  due  to  the  Giver  of  all  good 
for  raising  up  among  us  a  Bishop  so  lovely  and 
attractive  in  all  the  essential  elements  of  Christian 
character.  So  clear  in  his  views  of  *the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus  ;'  so  faithful  and  unchanging  in  maintain- 
ing that  truth,  and  so  earnest  and  simple  in  setting  it 
forth.  For  permitting  him  to  occupy,  for  so  long  a 
time,  the  important  position  which  he  has  held  in  the 
Church,  and  for  preserving  his  powers  and  faculties 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 
loo 

for  usefulness  in  unimpaired  and  vigorous  exercise  so 
far  beyond  the  allotted  period  of  three-score  years  and 
ten,  a  debt  of  unspeakable  gratitude  and  praise  is  due 
to  Him  *from  whom  all  blessings  flow.' 

We  tender  to  the  family  of  the  departed  Bishop, 
to  the  members  of  his  Church,  and  to  all  connected 
with  his  Diocese,  our  cordial  sympathy  in  the  great 
loss  they  have  sustained,  and  we  offer  our  earnest  pray- 
ers that  they  and  we  may  all  have  grace  to  follow  the 
dear  departed  Bishop  as  he  followed  Christ,  and  that 
we  may  all  be  permitted  to  meet  him  at  last  in  that 
bri-ht  world  to  which  he  has  gone,  and  to  share  with 
him  *the  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,'  which 

will  be  his  portion  there. 

Richard  Newton,  Chairman. 

Robert  C.  Matlack,  Secretary. 


American  Church  Missionary  Society. 

In  the  death  of  the  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D., 
LLD.,  on  April  12th,  1887,  this  Society  has  lost  one 
of  its  honorary  Vice-Presidents,  one  of  its  ablest  advo- 

cates  and  truest  friends. 

The  aim  of  his  life,  of  his  ministry,  of  his  high 
office  and  his  labors  with  us  in  the  mission  field,  was 
singly  to  advance  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  its  simplicity  and  purity. 

With  wonderful  gentleness  and  courtesy  he  united  a 
clearness  of  conviction,  feariess  courage,  and  cogency 
of  expression  rarely  seen. 


minutes  and  resolutions. 


169 


In  counsel  we  rested  upon  his  wisdom,  in  anxiety 
we  were  sure  of  his  sympathy,   in  action,  and  espe- 
cially at  critical  moments,  we  never  failed  to  secure 
his  efficient  aid.     In  November,  1886,  shortly  after  he 
had  returned  from  the  labors  of  the  General  Conven- 
tion, we  asked  his  presence  at  our  recent  annual  meet- 
ing, when  he  gracefully  urged  us  to  have  pity  upon  a 
man  in  his  eightieth  year  and  with  infinn  health,  but 
sent  this  message  :  *'I  must  content  myself  with  send- 
ing my  good  wishes  for  a  happy  and  profitable  meet- 
ing of  the  Society,  and  for  its  continued  usefulness. 
The  principles  with  which  it  is  identified  are  those 
upon  which  our  Church  was  planted  at  the  Reforma- 
tion, which  were  held  by  the  great  men  who  arranged 
our  Liturgy  and  framed  our  Articles,  and  which  our 
Standards  plainly  express.    Solid  growth  and  real  pros- 
perity depend  upon  their  firm  maintenance  and  unre- 
served exposition.    The  wise  and  holy  men  who  founded 
your  Society  did  not  overrate  their  value  and  impor- 
tance,  and  I  hope  they  will  be  esteemed  and  loved  by 
those  who  succeed  them  from  generation  to  generation." 
The    next    month,    when    he    had    gained    a    little 
strength,  he  consented  to  present   **The  fundamental 
principles  of  the    Society,"    at  a  meeting   in   Phila- 
delphia, and  delivered  an  address  which  for  masteriy 
argument,  historical  accuracy,  calmness  of  expression, 
and  convincing  power,  has  seldom  been  equalled,  show- 
ing plainly,  and  contending  earnestly,  that  the  princi- 
pies  of  the  English  Reformation  were  the  acknowl- 
edged  principles  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
and  the  only  basis  of  our  organization. 


t         I 

1 


h 


I- 


i] 


170 


MINUTES  AND  RESOlyUTlONS. 


II 


\ 


This  was  his  last  appearance  at  any  public  meeting, 
his  last  labor  of  love  in  the  mission-field — a  fitting 
close  to  his  consistent  testimony,  a  precious  legacy 
to  those  who  are  to  continue  his  work.  With  the 
Church  at  large  we  mourn  an  eminent  and  holy  Bishop 
departed  ;  with  all  who  are  defending  the  conservative 
and  true  position  of  our  Church  we  weep  over  an 
able  captain  fallen  ;  with  his  Diocese,  his  Parish,  and 
his  family  we  sympathize  in  the  loss  of  an  invalu- 
able friend ;  but  with  him  we  rejoice  in  labors  over, 
victory  won,  rest  reached  at  last,  and  the  reward 
which,  we  doubt  not,  he  has  received:  **Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant." 


Delaware   Branch   of  the  Woman's  Auxiliary 
TO  THE  Board  of  Missions,  May  5TH,  1887. 

Whereas,  It  has  been  the  will  of  God  that  our 
beloved  Bishop  should  be  removed  from  us,  therefore, 

Resolved^  That  we  desire  to  place  upon  record  a 
faint  expression  of  our  respect,  veneration  and  love. 
We  cannot  be  thankful  enough  for  his  gentle,  pure, 
and  godly  life,  which  will  ever  be  a  helpful  example 
to  us  and  to  all  who  knew  him. 

Resolved^  That  his  kindly  spirit  and  the  deep  inter- 
est which  he  manifested  at  our  last  meeting  in  the 
furtherance  of  our  works  will  long  remain  among  our 
bright  and  cherished  recollections  of  him. 

Resolved^  That  we  believe  that  no  tribute  to  his 
memory  could  be  more  appropriate  than  our  sincere 


I ' 


u 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


171 


resolve  earnestly  to  labor  for  that  missionary  work  in 
which  he  always  had  so  profound  an  interest,  and 
which  he  constantly  urged  upon  us  as  one  of  our 
highest  duties. 


/ 


Women's  Foreign  Missionary  Association  of 

Calvary  Church,  New  York. 
Resolved,  That  the  Women's  Foreign  Missionary  . 
Association  of  Calvary  Church  learns  with  deep  re- 
gret the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Lee,  and 
we  desire  to  express  our  sympathy  with  his  bereaved 
family,  and  we  recognize  the  loss  which  our  whole 
Church  has  sustained  in  the  death  of  so  able  and 
faithful  a  soldier  of  Christ.  To  our  President  we  ten- 
der our  sincere  sympathy,  knowing  how  great  this  loss 
is  to  her  personally. 

Wilmington  M.  E.  Preachers'  Meeting. 

At  a  session  of  the  Wilmington  M.  E.  Preachers' 
Meeting,  held  in  Asbury  Church  on  April  i8th,  the 
Revs.  Adam  Stengle,  J.  E.  Bryan  and  H.  A.  Monroe 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  draft  resolutions  ex- 
pressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting  on  the  death  of 
the  Rev.  Bishop  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.  The  following 
were  presented  and  adopted  : 

WHEREAS,  God,  in  His  all-wise  Providence,  has 
called  from  labor  to  reward  His  servant,  Alfred  Lee, 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware,  and  Senior  Bishop 


II 


11 
il 


\- 


I 


V 


I 


i 

r" 


II 


0 


172 


MINUTES  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United 
States ;  therefore 

Resolved^  That  we  hereby  express  our  high  appre- 
ciation of  his  Christian  character,  his  great  usefulness 
as  a  minister,  his  liberal  and  fraternal  spirit  mani- 
fested in  all  his  relations  with  others,  his  deep  inter- 
est in  the  welfare  of  this  city  and  State,  and,  in 
common  with  others,  we  sincerely  regret  the  great 
loss  the  Church  and  community  have  sustained. 

Resolved^  That,  as  a  body  of  Christian  ministers, 
we  extend  this  assurance  of  our  sympathy  with  the 
Church  of  which  he  was  the  honored  head,  and  also 
with  the  family  of  the  deceased,  praying  that  God  may 
sustain  them  in  their  hour  of  bereavement  and  sorrow. 

**  Resolved^  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent 
to  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and  also  published  in 
the  papers  of  the  city. 


LETTERS. 


./ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


i   il 


I  V 


1 


\ 


.    M 


11 1) 

V) 


/ 


/ 


From  the    many  i^etters   received  after  Bishop  Lee*s 

DEATH    the    FOI.LOWING    HAVE    BEEN    SELECTED    AS    CONTAINING 
SOME    REFERENCE   OF    SPECIAI,    INTEREST.       In    VIEW   OF    BiSHOP 

Stevens'  death  so  soon  after,  his  i^etter,  written  Aprii, 
8th,  is  ai^o  inserted. 


; 


Philadelphia,  April  8,  1887. 
My  very  dear  Bishop  Lee  : 

It  gives  me  inexpressible  joy  to  learn  that  you  are 
convalescent,  with  the  prospect  of  full  recovery  from 
your  severe  illness.  I  heard  of  your  dangerous  illness 
when  I  was  on  my  sick-bed,  and  the  shock  was  in- 
tensely painful.  God  be  praised  that  He  has  spared 
your  life  and  given  us  the  hope  that  you  may  yet  be 
strong  and  able  to  preside  over  the  Church.  At  a 
time  like  the  present  it  seems  more  and  more  impor- 
tant that  one  holding  your  strong  and  truthful  views 
should  be  at  the  helm,  when  so  much  grace  and  wis- 
dom and  firmness  are  required  to  keep  things  steady 
and  yet  progressive.  I  have  been  quite  sick  again 
myself,  and  have  only  been  out  once  or  twice  for  a 
month.  But  God  has  been  gracious  to  me,  and  the 
life  that  He  has  spared  I  most  unreservedly  consecrate 
anew  to  His  service. 

It  would  indeed  be  better  for  us  personally,  who 
hold  fast  the  blessed  hope  of  eternal  life  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  absent  from  the  body  and 
present  with  the  Lord,  but  He  tells  us.  Wait  a  little 
while,  work  a  little  longer,  and  under  My  discipline 
ripen  for  the  inheritance  of  the  Saints  in  Light 
And  so  our  duty  is  to  wait  and  hope  and  love,  and 
to  finish  our  course  with  joy. 

I  have  been  wanting  to  write  you  for  a  long  time, 
but  have  hardly  felt  up  to  the  mark.     Do  not  trouble 

175 


11 


/. 


\ 


jf^^l 


>l 


t  '\ 


iiM 


/ 


P  ^^ 


176 


LETTERS. 


LETTERS. 


yourself  to  reply  to  this,  as  I  know  you  are  not  able 

to  do  so.  .  ^       \t 

Ever,  my  Beloved  Brother,  Yours, 

William  Bacon  Stevens. 

Bishop  Lee. 


) 


Episcopal  Residence,  1633  Spruce  St 
Wednesday,  April  13,  1887. 

Dear : 

I  was  not  altogether  unprepared    for  the  telegram 
from  your  brother  which  told  me  last  evening  that 
your  dear  father  had  entered  into  rest.      I  doubt  if 
any,   outside  of   your  own   family,    can  feel    this  be- 
reavement   more    sorely  than    I    do.     We   have  been 
such    fellow-workers    in    heart,    and    mind   and  spirit 
for    so  many  years,   we    have  fought  together    in  so 
many  fields   of   responsibility   and   anxiety,   we   have 
held    together  the  same    great  distinctive  features  of 
Evangelical  truth  ;  we  have  even  felt  for  each  other 
such  personal  affection  and  Christian  intercourse,  that 
I  feel  that  a  brother  specially  beloved  has  been  taken 
from  my  side,   and    I  am  left  with  no  one  so  near 
and    like  united,   with  whom  to   take  sweet  counsel 
and  to  co-operate  in  the  great  work  yet  to  be  done. 
You  can  judge,  then,  how  sadly  I  feel  that  my  infirm 
health  will    not  pennit  me  to    be  present  and    take 
part  in  the  funeral  solemnities  next  Friday.     I  dare 
not    undertake    such  a   journey,    or    run  the    risk  of 
exposure  to  what  may  possibly  be  unfavorable  weather. 
You  and  your  family,  however,  will  well  know  how 
sincerely  I  mourn  his  death,  though  to  him  **  to  die 


177 


is  gain,''  because  he  is  now  **  forever  with  the  Lord." 
I  have  just  received  a  note  from  your  brother 
concerning  the  funeral,  and  I  thank  him  for  it.  Bishop 
Whi taker  will  go  down  in  the  11. 18  train  and  repre- 
sent the  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania. 

Commending  you  and  your  brother  to  the  God  of 
all  comfort,  and  assuring  you  of  the  deep  sympathy  of 
Mrs.  Stevens  and  myself  in  this  great  affliction, 

I  remain,  yours  truly, 

Wm.  Bacon  Stevens. 


Buffalo,  April  13th,  1887. 
Dear  Friend  : — So  it  has  come  at  last :  the  dear 
saint  sleeps  in  Jesus ;  keeps  Easter-tide  in  Para- 
dise, and  has  rested  from  his  labors  ripe  and  full  of 
years  and  of  good  works.  Blessed  indeed  is  his  death 
in  the  Lord.  So  wonderful  was  the  conflict  of  his 
constitution  against  disease  that  I  began  to  hope  he 
might  still  be  spared  to  us.  It  shocked  me  somewhat, 
therefore,  to  find  the  news  in  the  Journal  to-day. 
What  a  legacy  you  inherit  in  his  precious  name  and 
memory !  The  Church  will  ever  cherish  it  How 
remarkably  his  ** primacy''  rounds  out  the  century, 
since  White  and  Provoost  landed  at  New  York,  Easter, 
1787! 

Express  my  sympathy  to  all  the  family,  and  accept 
my  thanks  for  your  cordial  letters. 

Faithfully  yours, 

A.  Cleveland  Coxe, 
Bishop  of  Western  New  York. 


^  • 


W 


178 


LETTERS. 


LETTERS. 


179 


It  I 


V 


f 


'^^ 


III 


■■  i» 


"The  Gables," 
Reading,  Central  Penna.,  April  13th,  '87. 

My  Dear  Sir  -.—The  morning  paper  brings  me  the 
sad    intelligence    that    your    dear    father    has    passed 
beyond    the    veil.      My   prayers    for    his    continuance 
among  us  have  been  cheered  from  day  to  day  by  the 
hope    which    the    long    protraction    of   his    sickness 
created.     But   "He  doeth  all   things  well."     Bishop 
Lee  was  in  the  full  use  of  all  his  mental  faculties, 
although  he  has  filled  his  fourscore  years,  and  he  has 
been  rescued  from  that  stage  of  decline  which  must  soon 
have  succeeded,  had  his  time  on  earth  been  prolonged. 
If  the  order  of  "The  Caravan  which  moves  to  the 
pale  realms  of  space"  is  to  continue,  I  shall  be  the 
next  to   follow.      My  three  elders   in  the    House  of 
Bishops  have,   in  the  last  few  months,   passed  away 
in  the  order  of   their  seniority,   and   now  I  am  the 
foremost  in  the  line.     May  I  find  a  space,   through 
God's   mercy,    near   to    your   sainted   father    m    the 
spirit  worid.      I  trust  that  the  funeral  rites  will  be 
observed  at  such  a  time  as  I  can  attend. 

Accept  for  yourself,   and   your   sister   and  brother, 
assurance  of  my  loving  sympathy.    Faithfully, 
"Thy  Friend  and  thy  Father's  Friend," 

M.  A.  De  Wolfe  Howe. 


Boston,  April  36th,  1887. 

j)g^R :  Will  you  allow  one  who  is  a  stranger 

to  you  to  sympathize  with  you  in  the  loss  of  your 


venerable  and  most  excellent  father?  Bishop  Lee  was 
a  father  to  very  many  in  the  Church  ;  and  I  myself 
had  peculiarly  tender  associations  with  his  earlier  life, 
although  I  was  but  a  little  and  shy  boy  and  he  the 
man.  My  father  was  the  Rector  of  Christ  Church, 
Norwich,  Conn.,  and  when  I  was  a  boy  of  nine  or 
ten  years  Mr.  Lee  was  reading  more  or  less  under  my 
father's  directions.  I  remember  that  my  next  elder 
brother  read  aloud  to  him  at  a  time  when  his  eyes 
were  troubling  him.  His  first  parish  was  next  peigh- 
bor  to  my  father's  church. 

Very  often,  on  his  annual  visit  to  Norwich,  the 
Bishop  preached  for  me  in  the  church  which  my 
father  built,  and  which,  later,  was  my  field  of  labor. 
So  that  all  the  way  up  from  boyhood  I  have  had 
most  pleasing  and  grateful  intercourse  with  him. 

The  loss  is  very  great  to  the  Church,  and  the 
sorrow  must  be  keen  to  your  own  immediate  family. 
The  Bishop  was  a  saintly,  learned  and  wise  man,  and 
he  must  leave  a  great  void  in  many  loving  hearts. 
May  God  be  the  comforter  of  you  all. 

I  am,  madam. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Benjamin  H.  Paddock. 


My   Dear 


:    The    most    unexpected    news   of 

your  venerable  father's  death  reached  me  in  New 
York,  whither  I  had  gone  to  the  meeting  of  our 
Board  of  Missions,  and  my  first  hope  was  to  come  and 
join  with  the  great  company  which  gathered  to  show 


I 


i8o 


LETTERS. 


I 


their  love  for  him,  and  their  reverence  for  that  high 
place  he  filled  so  gently  and  so  justly  as  our  first 
Bishop.  But  I  found  that  the  Committee  on  the 
Hymnal,  of  which  I  am  Chairman,  had  come  (many 
of  its  members  from  a  long  distance)  with  much  work 
to  do,  and  prepared  to  sit  through  the  two  days,  and 
I  knew  he  would  have  wished  me  to  stay  and  do 
my  work,  so,  to  my  great  regret,  as  I  telegraphed  Mr. 
Bates,  I  could  not  come.  When  two  o'clock  came 
yesterday  we  stopped  our  work,  and  all  joined  with 
you  all  in  very  loving  communion,  while  I  read  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  said  the  Creed  and  the  Prayers. 

There  will  be  other  times  and  places  for  me  to 
bear  my  witness  to  all  that  was  gracious  and  good 
in  your  dear  father's  personal  and  public  life,  as  we 
saw  him.  As  I  write  to  you  and  think  of  the  old 
home  with  the  father  gone,  and  the  family  with  the 
master  taken  from  its  head,  I  rather  tell  you  of  my 
very  great  sympathy  with  you  in  your  personal  loss. 
It  is  the  break  of  the  last  link  that  binds  our  hearts 
to  the  only  really  happy  time  of  life — our  childhood, — 
when  this  comes— I  know  it  very  well— and  I  beg 
you  to  believe  that  I  feel  with  you  and  for  you  all,  and 
share  as  far  as  one  may  the  loving  reverence  in  which 
his  name  and  memory  must  live  on,  where  once  he  was 
revered  and  loved. 

Believe  me  very  sincerely, 

Your  friend, 
William  Croswell  Doane. 


Albany,  April  i6,  1887. 


LETTERS. 


181 


Diocese  of  Ohio. 
Cleveland,  April  i6th,   1887. 

My  Dear  Friend  : — Notwithstanding  the  premoni- 
tions, we  were  not  prepared  for  the  news  of  your 
venerable  father's  death.  To  you,  personally,  the  loss 
of  such  a  loving  parent,  and  such  a  holy  example 
of  all  that  is  estimable  in  religious  character  and 
walk,  is  not  to  be  measured.  And  to  the  Church,  his 
departure,  at  this  particular  juncture,  would  seem  to 
be  a  disaster,  were  not  its  affairs  in  the  hands  of 
infinite  wisdom,  and  were  not  its  welfare  dearer  to 
the  Saviour  than  it  can  be  to  any  of  His  followers. 
He  does  what  is  best ;  and  He  appoints  times  and 
seasons,  as  well  as  instruments,  for  effecting  His  ends. 

Mrs.  Bedell  and  I  have  been  talking  this  morning 
over  the  reunion,  in  which  he  has  already  shared. 

How  mysterious  is  all  that  lies  beyond  the  edge  of 
the  grave  !  How  little  light  even  the  glorious  revela- 
tions of  this  Easter  season  shed  upon  that  future ! 
But  how  happy  is  our  privilege  of  resting  our  hope 
in  simple  faith  upon  the  loving  grace  and  infinite 
wisdom  of  our  dear  Lord. 

Commending  you  and  your  dear  ones  to  Him,  I  beg 
to  assure  you  of  our  sympathy,  and  am, 

Sincerely  yours, 

G.  T.  Bedell. 


My   Dear 


Charleston,  South  Carolina, 

April  24th,  1887. 
■ :    I   will    not    intrude    upon    your 


time  but  for  a  moment,   and    that  only  just  to  say 


,11 


l82 


LETTERS. 


MINUTES  AND   RESOLUTIONS. 


how  pained  I  am  at  the  death  of  your  venerable  and 
honored  father.  We  do  not  know  each  other,  but 
we  have  both  seen  sorrow,  and  have  hope  towards 
God  for  our  dear  ones  who  sleep  in  Jesus. 

I  shall  never  forget  your  father's  deep  sympathy 
for  us  of  Charleston  in  our  disaster,  and  how  he 
helped  us. 

May  God  be  with  you. 

Very  respectfully, 

W.  B.  W.  Howe, 
Bishop  of  South  Carolina. 


183 


I  need  say  nothing,  perhaps,  in  the  way  of  com- 
fort *  *  *  It  is  no  small  comfort,  however,  to 
have  had  a  father  who  lived  so  long  and  so  well, 
and  who  has  departed  this  life  without  a  stain  upon 
his  memory,  honored  and  revered  by  all. 


f 

( 


Mt 


I 


I 


I 


f 


The  Rev.  Lafayette  Marks,  pastor  of  Hanover 
Street  Presbyterian  Church,  Wilmington,  in  a  letter 
of  condolence  to  a  member  of  the  Bishop's  family, 
says : 

I  have  just  learned  of  the  death  of  your  esteemed 
father,  the  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee.  Allow  me  to 
assure  you  of  my  earnest  sympathy  in  your  sore  be- 
reavement Your  father  gave  me  a  cordial  greeting 
when  I  first  came  to  Wilmington  some  eighteen 
years  ago ;  and  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  enjoy 
his  fraternal  regard  ever  since.  *         *         »         ♦ 

I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  esteem  him  for 
his  character  and  his  works. 

I  thought  of  him  often  during  his  sickness,  and 
hoped  and  prayed  that  he  might  recover.  But  God 
knoweth  and  doeth  best  *         *         *  ♦      *         * 


i'Ai 


t 


f  i 


'¥> 


I  i^ 


^ir 


I 

r 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  AD- 
DRESSES OF  THE  BISHOPS. 


«      ( 


% 


'I- 


t 


Ths  extracts  from  thb  addresses  here  reprinted  in- 

CI,UDE  AXI,  WHICH  HAVE  BEEN  RECEIVED  UP  TO  THE  CI^OSE  OP 
THE  YEAR  1887,  THE  PUBUCATION  HAVING  BEEN  DEI^AYED  UNTII, 
THAT  TIME   IN    ORDER  TO    RECEIVE  THE    JOURNALS  OF   AS    MANY 

OF  THE  Dioceses  as  possibi«e. 


ii 


f. 


<•!! 


»1 


I 


/ 


Connecticut. 

During  the  year,  four  of  the  Bishops  of  this 
Church  have  been  removed  by  death, — The  Rt.  Rev. 
Horatio  Potter,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  New  York;  the  Rt 
Rev.  William  Mercer  Green,  Bishop  of  Mississippi ; 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Delaware, 
and  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  House  of  Bishops ;  and 
the  Rt.  Rev.  William  Bacon  Stevens,  D.D.,  Bishop 
of  Pennsylvania. 

The  Bishop  of  Delaware  had  nearly  completed  the 
forty-sixth  year  of  his  Episcopate.  Two  of  these 
prelates  had  passed  beyond  and  one  had  almost  reached 
the  limits  of  '*  fourscore  years.''  So  God  has  taken 
them  to  Himself,  full  of  years  and  honors,  reverenced 
and  beloved  throughout  the  entire  Church.  And  what 
more  need  I  say?  **They  that  be  wise  shall  shine 
as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that 
turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars,  for  ever 
and  ever." 


Rhode  Isi^and. 

During  the  past  year,  three  of  our  Bishops  have 
been  taken  from  us,  all  of  whom  had  passed  beyond 
the  ordinary  limit  of  years  allotted  to  man  on  earth, 
and,  their  work  here  completed,  they  rest  from  their 
labors,  and  are  now,  we  trust,  rejoicing  in  the  fields 

187 


.    V 


»\ 


188 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


M 
llf 


<l 


.Ml 


- 1 


) 


I 


i 


of  Paradise.  Bishop  Lee,  of  Delaware,  was  bom  in 
1807,  and  consecrated  in  1841.  He  succeeded  Bishop 
Smith  as  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  Church,  and  his 
office  is  now  filled  by  the  Bishop  of  Connecticut 


Texas. 


During  the  past  year,  three  of  the  oldest  of  our 
Bishops  have  been  called  to  their  rest  —  the  Rt.  Rev. 
William  Mercer  Green,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Bishop  of  Mis- 
sissippi;  the  Rt.  Rev.  Horatio  Potter,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
D.  C.  L. ,  Bishop  of  New  York  ;  and  the  late  Presiding 
Bishop,  Rt.  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Dela- 
ware— all  full  of  years  and  honors,  and  labors  for  Christ 
and  His  Church.  It  is  perhaps  the  first  instance  in 
our  history  where  the  work  of  death  has  been  thus 
confined  to  three  longest  in  the  Episcopate,  and  so 
near  the  term  usually  allotted  to  man.  It  is  a  blessed 
privilege  to  be  thus  spared  for  a  very  lengthened  course 

of  service. 

And  yet  the  admonition  applies  to  the  younger  as 
well  as  the  older  in  every  order  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
May  it  be  ours  to  be  as  ripe  for  the  change,  whether 
coming  earlier  or  later,  as  were  the  venerable  prelates 
of  whom  mention  has  been  made. 


Ohio. 


The  Church  has  lost  three  of  her  most  venerable 
Bishops  during  the  last  year, — Bishop  Lee,  of  Dela- 


P 


/ 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


189 


ware  ;  Bishop  Green,  of  Mississippi ;  Bishop  Horatio 
Potter,  of  New  York.  I  leave  their  eulogium  to  those 
who,  being  more  nearly  their  equals,  are  more  com- 
petent to  write  it.  But  a  tribute  of  affection  will 
not  be  deemed  amiss  from  one  who,  in  the  orderines 
of  Providence,  was  singularly  associated  with  each 
of  them. 

Bishop  Lee  was  prominent  among  the  evangelical 
movements  of  the  last  half  century,  and  is  always 
among  the  foremost  in  my  recollections  of  those  noble 
men  who  then  gave  character  to  the  Church.  They 
were  men  who  understood  the  Gospel,  not  only  be- 
cause they  had  studied  theology^  and  knew  whereof 
they  affirmed,  but  had  experienced  the  value  of  the 
truths  they  taught.  Whenever  I  think  of  them,  the 
old  legend  of  antediluvian  days  springs  into  mind, 
**  there  were  giants  in  the  earth  in  those  days.*' 
Among  them  Bishop  Lee  was  an  acknowledged  leader, 
recognized  as  such  by  everyone  except  himself.  His 
modesty  was  equalled  only  by  his  learning  ;  his  hu- 
mility comparable  only  to  his  wisdom.  Consequently 
he  was  remarkably  retiring,  and  his  words  were  few. 
But  when  he  spoke,  every  utterance  carried  weight, 
and  his  judgments  were  decisive.  Associated  with  him 
in  the  evangelical  movements  from  an  early  age,  I 
learned  a  reverence  for  his  opinions  which  no  events 
of  later  years  have  shaken  and  experience  has  jus- 
tified. It  may  truly  be  said  of  him,  as  was  said  of 
a  great  man  whom  England  mourns,  **Men  knew 
that  he  would  never  swerve  from  what  he  knew  to 
be   righf      And    thus,    with  all   his   gentleness  and 


\ 

k 


I 


\ 


\ 

I 


a 


■  I 

4 


*''l 


190 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAI,  ADDRESSES. 


courtesy,  he  was,  as  Tennyson  describes  the  Iron 
Duke,  "a  tower  that  stood  four  square  to  every  wind 
that  blew/* 


Minnesota. 

We  have  lost  by  death  three  Bishops.  The  Right 
Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Presiding  Bishop  and 
Bishop  of  Delaware,  who  was  a  ripe  scholar,  a  devout 
Christian,  and  always  faithful  to  his  convictions  of 
duty.         »»***♦♦* 


>  / 


y   / 


/ 


Pennsylvania. 


BISHOP  STEVENS. 


The  death  of  Bishop  Lee  has  come  nearer  to  us 
than  that  of  others.  He  was  well  known  to  us  all. 
He  was  the  President  of  the  Corporation  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Divinity  School,  and  he  was  the  Presiding 
Bishop  of  our  whole  Church.  For  fifty  years  he  had 
been  a  faithful  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  for  forty- 
five  years  he  had  been  Bishop  of  Delaware ;  for  three 
years  he  was  the  Presiding  Bishop. 

His  diocesan  field  was  small,  but  he  cultivated 
it  with  sedulous  care,  and  it  grew  under  his  fatherly 
oversight.  The  strong,  though  quiet,  elements  of  his 
character  soon  led  to  his  taking  a  very  active  part 
in  nearly  all  the  forward  movements  of  the  Church, 
and  developed  abilities  which  soon  commanded  the 
public  attention.      In  the  Board  of  Missions,   in  the 


»* 


extracts  from  annual  addresses. 


191 


Mexican  Commission,  in  the  Revision  Committee  of 
the  Bible,  in  the  sessions  of  the  Lambeth  Conference, 
and  other  great  occasions,  he  took  a  prominent  part. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  diligent  of  students  and 
writers,  even  up  to  this  last  year.  His  early  legal 
training  gave  a  judicial  cast  to  his  mind,  so  that  his 
judgment  was  rarely  at  fault.  His  wisdom  was  pro- 
found. So  gentle  and  inoffensive,  so  loving  and 
sympathetic,  so  redolent  with  the  grace  of  humility 
and  personal  consecration,  that  he  seemed  to  be 
almost  the  St.  John  of  the  House  of  Bishops,  lean- 
ing on  Jesus'  bosom,  loving  and  beloved  by  all.  In 
his  theological  views  he  was  sound  and  strong  and 
evangelical,  but  he  ever  spoke  the  truth  in  love,  and 
he  maintained  his  consistency  of  doctrine  through  the 
half  century  of  his  ministry.  His  Church  views  were 
based  on  the  Bible  and  the  Prayer-Book,  and  never 
did  he  show  the  slightest  disloyalty  to  either,  but 
was  an  uncompromising  defender  of  the  faith  of  the 
Church  as  set  forth  in  the  Creed,  the  Catechism,  the 
Offices,  and  Articles  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
His  whole  life  will  bear  microscopic  inspection,  and 
its  trend  and  aim  was  to  be  a  living  example  of 
the  beauty  of  holiness,  the  power  of  truth,  the  fidelity 
of  a  good  Shepherd,  and  of  that  growth  in  grace 
which  lies  at  the  base  of  all  personal  piety,  all 
ministerial  power,  all  true  sympathy  with  humanity, 
and  all  permanent  success  in  discharging  the  duties 
and  filling  up  the  responsibility  of  a  Bishop  in  the 
Church  of  God. 

As    the    sun,    when    it    goes    down,    often    leaves 


I 


i 


( 


192 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


behind  in  the  sky  broad  bands  of  golden  light,  telling 
us  that  he  is  still  living  and  shining,  though  beyond 
our  sight,  so  the  golden  memories  which  stream  up- 
ward from  the  sunset  of  this  man  of  God,  tell  us 
that  he  still  lives  and  shines  beyond  our  horizon, 
with  a  glory  that  will  ever  increase,  and  with  a  light 
that  shall  never  fade  away. 


,t^ 


«r 


i 


\     :         I 


Kansas. 

The  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese 
of  Delaware,  was  also  the  Presiding  Bishop  in  our 
House  of  Bishops,  and  has  been  such  ever  since  the 
decease  of  the  venerable  Bishop  Smith,  of  Kentucky, 
who  preceded  him.  Indeed,  for  several  General  Con- 
ventions prior  to  the  death  of  Bishop  Smith,  the  care 
of  the  Presidency,  on  account  of  the  extreme  infirmi- 
ties and  age  of  Bishop  Smith,  largely  fell  on  him, 
and  he  sustained  it  with  great  ability.  *  *  *  * 
*  ♦  *  *  The  forty-fifth  year  of  his  Episcopate 
closed  on  the  evening  of  Wednesday,  the  12th  day 
of  October,  1886,  and  the  fact  was,  on  the  morning 
of  the  next  day,  noticed  in  the  House  of  Bishops  by 
the  adoption  of  suitable  resolutions  of  congratulation 
and  affectionate  regard.  He  was  a  man  of  very  clear 
and  definite  views  in  regard  to  Christian  doctrine,  and 
was  well  known  as  holding  very  decidedly  and  intelli- 
gently the  views  of  Divine  Truth  held  by  what  is 
called  the  Evangelical  School.  Yet  there  was  a  re- 
markable sweetness  of  personal  character,  which  made 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


193 


him  very  tolerant  towards  those  of  other  schools  of 
thought  and  interpretation.  He  was  an  able  linguist, 
and  was  one  of  the  few  in  this  country  who  were 
elected  to  work  with  the  famous  English  translators, 
in  the  production  of  the  Revised  Version  of  the 
Bible.  His  intellectual  activity  was  kept  up  to  the 
last.  He  was  a  very  modest,  but  really  a  very  great 
man.  He  may  be  peculiarly  characterized  as  emi- 
nently representing  the  judicial  mind  of  the  House 
of  Bishops,  his  views  on  Canonical  questions,  or  those 
involving  legal  principles,  being  almost  always  con- 
clusive in  that  House.  As  a  lover  of  the  Master  he 
lived  purely  and  consistently,  and  in  the  love  of  the 
Master  he  died.     He  *' sleeps  in  Jesus." 


Tennessee. 

During  the  past  year,  three  of  our  Bishops  have 
been  called  away  from  the  militant  Church  to  that 
rest  which  remaineth  to  the  people  of  God.  They 
were  all  of  them  men  of  mark  ;  and  all  had  reached 
a  good  old  age. 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  Bishop  of  Delaware  and 
Presiding  Bishop  of  the  American  Church,  was  con- 
secrated in  1 841,  and  was  for  six-and-forty  years  Bishop 
of  his  Diocese.  He  was  a  saintly  man— a  man  of  great 
and  accurate  scholarship.  We  may  thank  God  for  such 
lives.     They  are  the  heritage  of  the  Church. 


13 


f 
* 


194 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


195 


Maine. 

No  less  than  four  of  our  most  venerated  and  in- 
fluential Bishops  have  been  taken  to  their  rest, — the 
Right  Rev.  Horatio  Potter,  Bishop  of  New  York,  on 
the  2d  day  of  January  ;  the  Right  Rev.  William  Mercer 
Green,  Bishop  of  Mississippi,  on  the  13th  of  Febniary ; 
the  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  Bishop  of  Delaware,  and 
the  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  House  of  Bishops,  on  the 
I2th  of  April ;  and  very  recently,  on  S.  Barnabas' 
Day,  the  Right  Rev.  William  Bacon  Stevens,  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Each  of  these,  except  Bishop  Stevens,  had 
served  for  a  remarkably  long  period  in  his  office. 
Bishop  Lee  was  consecrated  in  1841,  Bishop  Green  in 
1850,  and  Bishop  Potter  in  1854.  The  youngest  of  the 
three  by  birth,  Bishop  Lee,  had  reached  nearly  four- 
score years,  and  had  served  longest  in  the  Episcopate, 
having  been  called  at  the  age  of  thirty-four  years,  and 
when  he  had  been  in  priests*  orders  but  three  years, 
to  become  the  first  Bishop  of  Delaware.  The  oldest, 
Bishop  Green,  was  bom  in  1798,  less  than  ten  years 
after  the  adoption  of  the  American  Constitution,  and 
was  chosen  as  the  first  Bishop  of  Mississippi  at  the 
age  of  fifty-two,  having  previously  held  important  posts 
as  a  presbyter.  Bishop  Potter,  born  in  1802,  was  or- 
dained to  the  priesthood  in  1828,  and  served  in  the 
Episcopate  nearly  thirty-seven  years.  It  is  unneces- 
sary that  I  should  undertake  to  review  the  lives  of  these 
eminent  and  venerated  men,  since  that  has  been  already 
done  in  the  case  of  each  of  them  by  those  more  familiar 


than  myself  with  their  careers.  Nor  could  we  form  a 
just  estimate  of  the  value  of  their  services  to  the  Church 
from  any  data  within  our  knowledge  or  reach.  From 
a  full  record  of  their  official  acts  and  utterances,  from 
their  private  diaries  and  correspondence,  and  from  the 
reports  of  those  who  were  intimately  associated  with 
them,  much  could  be  learned  respecting  the  nature 
and  extent  of  their  labors  and  their  mental  and  moral 
characteristics.  But  when  I  consider  what  constitutes 
real  success  in  the  Christian  ministry,  and  the  condi- 
tions of  it,  and  when  I  consider,  furthermore,  that  the 
humblest  of  His  servants,  laboring  in  some  obscure 
corner  of  His  vineyard,  made  instrumental  by  God  in 
bringing  a  particular  man  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  in  turning  him  from  sin  to 
righteousness,  may  have  done  more  for  the  cause  of 
Christ  than  he  who  has  been  most  conspicuous  and 
most  abundant  in  labors,  I  realize  how  impossible  it 
is  for  us  to  judge  as  to  the  comparative  importance  in 
the  spiritual  sphere,  of  the  life-work  of  individuals. 
Thus  much  may  be  truly  said  of  these  three  departed 
Bishops,  that  they  were  all  alike  men  not  only  of  irre- 
proachable character,  but  of  notable  piety,  and  won 
for  themselves  not  only  esteem  for  their  integrity  and 
admiration  for  their  ability  and  learning,  but  rever- 
ence for  their  godliness.  They  were,  therefore,  as 
Shepherds,  meet  ensamples  to  the  flock  of  Christ,  and 
when  He,  the  Chief  Shepherd,  shall  appear,  they  shall 
receive  from  Him  their  crown  and  their  reward. 


21 


I 


196 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAI,  ADDRESSES. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAI.  ADDRESSES. 


197 


Missouri. 

Bishop  Lee,  of  Delaware,  the  late  Presiding  Bishop, 
was  well  fitted  to  be  the  Primate,  by  eminence  in 
scholarship,  strength  of  intellect,  and  dignity  and  kind- 
ness of  demeanor.  One  was  at  a  loss  which  to  admire 
the  more,  the  rigid  accuracy  of  thought  which  gave 
power,  or  the  pure  simplicity  of  style  which  gave  charm 
to  all  that  he  said  or  wrote.  The  painstaking  fidelity 
which  he  brought  to  the  discharge,  in  their  minute 
details,  of  the  duties  which  his  high  ofiice  imposed 
upon  him,  was  characteristic  of  his  whole  life. 


Vermont. 

Bishop  Lee  was  consecrated  in  184 1.  His  Episco- 
pate reached  the  unusual  extent  of  forty-six  years. 
He  had  a  high  reputation  as  a  careful  student  of  the 
Scriptures ;  and  was  selected  to  be  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  what  was  called  the  American  Commission  to 
aid  in  the  late  revision  of  the  Bible.  As  a  preacher, 
he  was  earnest  and  forcible,  impressing  his  hearers 
with  the  sincerity  and  strength  of  his  own  convictions. 

In  his  small  Diocese  he  was  able  to  hold,  with  his 
higher  duties,  the  happy  relations  of  the  Rector  of  a 
Parish  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  became  the  Presid- 
ing Bishop  of  the  Church,  on  the  decease  of  Bishop 
Smith,  in  1884. 


Long  Island. 

April  1 2th,  1887,  our  late  Presiding  Bishop,  Right 
Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  laid  aside  the  robes 
of  office  and  rested  from  his  labors  on  earth,  as  he 
rounded  out  his  fourscore  years. 

He  was  one  of  the  men  whose  outward  quiet  and 
modest  reserve  greatly  misled  the  world  and  the  Church 
as  to  his  industrious  energy  and  aggressive  force.  Of 
sweet  and  humble  piety,  always  disinclined  to  promi- 
nence among  men,  even  when  thrust  upon  him ;  with 
a  personal  manner  and  tone  of  character  that  seemed 
to  imply  a  readiness  to  give  up  an  opinion  rather 
than  to  defend  it  at  the  risk  of  controversy ;  he  was, 
in  fact,  a  man  of  the  most  positive  convictions,  and 
of  undaunted  boldness  and  courage  in  uttering  them 
when  occasion  required  it.  So  with  regard  to  his  in- 
tellectual ability  and  his  learning,  he  deceived  most 
people  by  his  tranquil  simplicity  and  utter  absence  of 
all  parade  of  strength. 

He  did  not  court  emergencies,  but  when  they  arose 
he  was  always  equal  to  them.  Somehow  he  was 
never  lacking  in  needed  power,  and  yet  when  his 
power  manifested  itself,  it  was  of  the  nature  of  a  sur- 
prise.    The  habit  of  his  mind  was  essentially  judicial. 

His  great  ambition  was  to  be  just  and  fair  in  deal- 
ing with  opinions,  parties,  men.  Nothing  was  more 
alien  to  his  nature  than  to  prejudge  or  to  misjudge 
what  came  before  him  for  arbitration  or  final  adjudi- 
cation.     Of  his  ecclesiastical  sympathies  and  theologi- 


iqS 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


cal  learning  it  is  the  less  needful  to  speak,  because, 
from  beginning  to  end  of  his  long  career,  none  who 
knew  him  ever  had  any  reason  to  be  in  doubt. 

He  bore  his  high  honors  with  modest  dignity, 
lived  among  men  without  reproach,  toiled  on  in  every 
official  relation  hopefully  to  the  last,  and  closed  his 
career  of  honorable  usefulness  in  the  Church  without 
a  murmur,  without  an  enemy,  without  a  stain  or  a 
flaw  on  his  record. 

Such  men  enrich  the  Church  while  they  live  and 
impoverish  it  when  they  die. 


Albany. 

Three  of  the  most  venerable  and  distinguished  of 
our  Bishops,  and  one  of  the  youngest  and  most  be- 
loved, have  died  since  we  were  gathered  here.     *    *     * 

It  is  a  great  comfort  to  me  to  realize  how  the 
last  few  years  of  frequent  intercourse  and  interchange 
of  thought  drew  me  into  a  far  clearer  comprehension 
of  the  late  Presiding  Bishop,  and  of  the  Bishop  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  I  think  materially  modified  their 
judgment  of  my  views.  There  are  some  who  think  it 
quite  impossible,  that  men  who  differ  strongly  upon 
principles  can  come  to  any  close  relation,  without 
some  weak  withholding  of  convictions.  I  am  quite 
sure  that  the  respect,  which  grows  into  appreciation, 
is  built  far  more,  upon  a  clearer  understanding  among 
men  of  differing  views,  and  upon  the  recognition  of 
the  facts  and  reasons  of  their  tenacious  holding.      Cer- 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


199 


tain  it  is  that  while  there  came,  as  there  must,  I  think, 
to  all  men  growing  old,  or  growing  at  all,  a  broaden- 
ing of  character  and  mind,  there  was  never  any  lack 
of   outspokenness  when   principles  and    policies  were 
discussed.      We  all    knew  perfectly  well  where  each 
one  of  us  stood,  and  especially  in  the  Mexican  Com- 
mission, whose  wretched  outcome  broke  Bishop  Lee's 
heart.     The  absolute  agreement  that  we  came  to,  was 
due  to  the  clear,    seen  result,    in  the  outworking  to 
evident  disaster,    of  elements  which  had  escaped   the 
notice  of  the  Bishops  in  their  first  dealing  with  this 
question.     I  want  to  bear  my  testimony  to  the  patience 
and  earnestness,   and  purity   of  purpose,    with   which 
the  Bishop  of  Delaware  especially,  took  up  with  san- 
guine   hope  the  work  in  Mexico.      His** heart,   and 
hopes,   and  prayers  and  tears''  were  with  it,   and  if 
the  faith  of  others  had  been  as  good  as  his  faith  was, 
if  the  hopes  which  inspired  the  beginning  of  the  en- 
terprise  had  been  as  sound  as  they  were  sincere,  there 
might  have  been   a  witness   for   primitive   faith   and 
order  in   Mexico,    rooted   and   grounded    in   love  and 
peace.     Bishop  Lee  was  to  me  the  type  of  a  learned 
and  earnest  evanger^^l,   '*  godly  and  well  learned, '»   I 
may  say ;  and  his  endurance  and  energy  were  really 
marvellous. 


Central  New  York. 

Four  venerable  figures  disappear  from  the  House 
of  Bishops  ;  four  honored  Chief  Shepherds  are  missed 
and    mourned   in  the  jurisdictions  where  they  ruled 


% 


198 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAI,  ADDRESSES. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


199 


cal  learning  it  is  the  less  needful  to  speak,  because, 
from  beginning  to  end  of  his  long  career,  none  who 
knew  him  ever  had  any  reason  to  be  in  doubt. 

He  bore  his  high  honors  with  modest  dignity, 
lived  among  men  without  reproach,  toiled  on  in  every 
official  relation  hopefully  to  the  last,  and  closed  his 
career  of  honorable  usefulness  in  the  Church  without 
a  murmur,  without  an  enemy,  without  a  stain  or  a 
flaw  on  his  record. 

Such  men  enrich  the  Church  while  they  live  and 
impoverish  it  when  they  die. 


Albany. 


Three  of  the  most  venerable  and  distinguished  of 
our  Bishops,  and  one  of  the  youngest  and  most  be- 
loved, have  died  since  we  were  gathered  here.     *     *     * 

It  is  a  great  comfort  to  me  to  realize  how  the 
last  few  years  of  frequent  intercourse  and  interchange 
of  thought  drew  me  into  a  far  clearer  comprehension 
of  the  late  Presiding  Bishop,  and  of  the  Bishop  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  I  think  materially  modified  their 
judgment  of  my  views.  There  are  some  who  think  it 
quite  impossible,  that  men  who  dififer  strongly  upon 
principles  can  come  to  any  close  relation,  without 
some  weak  withholding  of  convictions.  I  am  quite 
sure  that  the  respect,  which  grows  into  appreciation, 
is  built  far  more,  upon  a  clearer  understanding  among 
men  of  differing  views,  and  upon  the  recognition  of 
the  facts  and  reasons  of  their  tenacious  holding.     Cer- 


tain it  is  that  while  there  came,  as  there  must,  I  think, 
to  all  men  growing  old,  or  growing  at  all,  a  broaden- 
ing of  character  and  mind,  there  was  never  any  lack 
of   outspokenness  when  principles  and    policies  were 
discussed.      We  all    knew  perfectly  well   where  each 
one  of  us  stood,  and  especially  in  the  Mexican  Com- 
mission, whose  wretched  outcome  broke  Bishop  Lee's 
heart.     The  absolute  agreement  that  we  came  to,  was 
due   to  the  clear,    seen  result,    in  the  outworking  to 
evident  disaster,    of  elements  which  had  escaped   the 
notice  of  the  Bishops  in  their  first  dealing  with  this 
question.     I  want  to  bear  my  testimony  to  the  patience 
and  earnestness,   and  purity   of  purpose,    with  which 
the  Bishop  of  Delaware  especially,  took  up  with  san- 
guine   hope  the  work  in   Mexico.      His '*  heart,   and 
hopes,   and  prayers  and  tears*'  were  with  it,   and  if 
the  faith  of  others  had  been  as  good  as  his  faith  was, 
if  the  hopes  which  inspired  the  beginning  of  the  en- 
terprise  had  been  as  sound  as  they  were  sincere,  there 
might  have   been   a  witness   for   primitive   faith   and 
order  in   Mexico,    rooted   and   grounded   in   love  and 
peace.     Bishop  Lee  was  to  me  the  type  of  a  learned 
and  earnest  evangelical,   **  godly  and  well  learned,"   I 
may  say ;  and  his  endurance  and  energy  were  really 
marvellous.  ^ 

Central  New  York. 

Four  venerable  figures  disappear  from  the  House 
of  Bishops ;  four  honored  Chief  Shepherds  are  missed 
and    mourned   in  the  jurisdictions  where  they  ruled 


\ 


200  EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 

prudently  with  all  their  power,  in  the  families  where 
they  were  fatherly  and  provident  and  watchful,— Bishop 
Green,  the  first   Bishop  of  Mississippi;  Bishop  Potter, 
the  sixth   Bishop  of  New  York;  Bishop  Lee,  the  first 
Bishop  of  Delaware,  and   Bishop  Stevens,  the  fourth 
Bishop  of   Pennsylvania.      My  acquaintance  with   no 
one  of  them  could  be  called  intimate,  though  we  were 
all  often  together.      They  were  as  unlike  one  another 
almost  as  gentleness,    prudence,    acuteness    and    con- 
scientiousness are  unlike  one  another.      There  was  no 
stain  on  the  life  of  any  one  of  them.      Beyond  ques- 
tion    they  were    all  **  wholesome  and  godly  examples 
and  patterns  for  the  people  to  follow,'*  all  using  the 
authority  given  them,  **not  to  destruction  but  to  sal- 
vation; not  to  hurt  but  to  help,'»  all  gifted  with  the 
spirit  ** of  power  and  love  and  soberness.'' 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAI,  ADDRESSES. 


20 1 


New  Hampshire. 

Since  we  were  last  here  assembled  five  Bishops  of 
this  Church  have  been  called  from  the  toils  of  earth 
to  the  rest  of  Paradise,— Green,  Potter,  Lee,  Stevens 
and  Elliott.  What  men  of  renown.  The  Bishop  of 
Delaware  and  Presiding  Bishop  was  a  very  ripe  scholar, 
a  prudent  counsellor,  stout  in  debate,  a  meek  Chris- 
tian, and  a  strong  Bishop  and  faithful  man. 


South  Carolina. 

Since   we   last   met    three  venerable   members   of 
the  House  of  Bishops  have  been  removed  by  death  : 


the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Green  of  the  Diocese  of  Missis- 
sippi ;  the  Right  Rev.   Dr.  Potter  of  the  Diocese  of 
New   York;   and    the   Presiding   Bishop,    Right   Rev. 
Dr.    Lee,    of  the  Diocese  of  Delaware.      Bishop  Lee 
had  served  in  the  Episcopate  forty-six  years.     Bishop 
Green   thirty-seven   years.    Bishop  Potter   thirty-three 
years.      Long  lives   all   of  them;   and   lives   without 
stain,  spent  to  the  glory  of  God  and  for  the  welfare 
of  men.      Our  American  Church  afiectionately  places 
their  names  upon  her  diptychs. 


Central  Pennsylvania. 

Tuesday  in  Easter  week,  April  12,  the  sad  tidings 
went  abroad  that  the  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  Church, 
the  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  had  been 
advanced  to  a  higher  ministry  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lord.  Dr.  Lee  throughout  his  clerical  life  had  been 
a  slender  and  apparently  delicate  man,  but  we  never 
heard  of  him  as  sick,  or  laid  aside  from  duty  by 
acute  or  chronic  disease.  He  was  always  at  his  post 
of  duty,  with  careful  preparation  for  all  its  require- 
ments. Although  for  so  many  years  he  has  been 
known  as  one  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  yet  in 
his  appearance  the  indications  were  not  conspicuous 
that   he  was   approaching   the   common   boundary  of 

man's  earthly  course.  , 

When  he  last  stood  as  the  senior  among  his  brethren, 
there  seemed  no  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  same 
relation  might  not  still  continue  through  yet  succeed- 


1 


202  EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAIv  ADDRESSES. 

ing  years.      The   Church  was  startled   and  surprised 
by  his  removal. 

He  had  a  marked  individuality  of  character.      He 
leaves  no  man  in  the  Episcopate  whose  opinions  on 
doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  subjects  are  more  distinctly 
defined  or  more  firmly  fixed  than  his— perhaps  no  one 
entirely  accordant  with  him  on  all  points.      He  was 
always  ready  to  give  an  answer  to  every  man  that  asked 
a  reason  of  the  faith  that  was  in  him  with  meekness 
and  fear.     Yet  he  was  no  polemic.     He  did  not  provoke 
and  defy  controversy.     No  acrimony  of  language  or 
voice  ever  fell   from   his  pen  or  lips.     With  dispas- 
sionate calmness  and  simple  cogency  he  vindicated  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  whenever  challenged  to  its  de- 
fense.     He  never  strove  for  mastery — only  for  right. 
His  learning  befitted  his  office.      His  administration 
was    eminently    paternal.      His    personal    holiness   of 
character  and  meekness  of  deportment  rendered  him 
an  object  of  universal  veneration.  . 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAI,  ADDRESSES. 


203 


Massachusetts. 

On  the  1 2th  of  April  last,  our  venerable,  honored 
and  beloved  Presiding  Bishop,  Alfred  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  at  his  own  home  in  Wilmington, 
Delaware,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age,  and  the 
forty-sixth  year  of  his  Episcopate.  Only  important  du- 
ties, laid  on  me  by  the  General  Convention,  and  which 
could  not  be  abandoned  without  loss  to  others,  could 
have  kept  me  from  paying  my  last  token  of  life-long 


respect  to  this  good  and  great  servant  of  God.     For 
my  memory  of  him  goes  back  to  my  boyhood  days, 
when,  as  one  of  my  father's  parishioners,  he  was  mak- 
ing  his    transition    from    the  legal   profession    to   the 
sacred  ministry.     My  first  Parish  Church  in  Norwich, 
Connecticut,  saw  and  heard  him  gladly  on  his  occa- 
sional visits   to  his  old  home,  he  little  thinking  that 
in  later  years  he  should  be  one  of  my  consecrators  to 
the  office  of  your  Bishop.      Bishop   Lee  was  a  ripe 
scholar,  a  wise  man,  a  fearless  but  loving  and  sympa- 
thetic Bishop,  a  most  humble  and  exemplary  Christian, 
in  all  things  **a  pattern  of  good  works.''     The  admir- 
able  clearness,    calmness   and  judicial    quality  of  his 
intellect,  the  sweetness  and  modesty  of  his  disposition, 
the  depth  and  holiness  of  his  spiritual  life,  the  courage 
and  absolute  dutifulness  of  his  daily  life,  the  unvary- 
ing nearness  to  God  of  the  whole  man, — these  qualities 
will  ensure  him  perpetual  remembrance  among  all  good 
Christian  people. 


North  Carolina. 

Our  venerable  Presiding  Bishop,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr. 
Lee,  of  Delaware,  has  also  been  taken  from  us.  He 
was  a  man  of  very  decided  ability  ;  of  calm  and  well- 
balanced  judgment ;  of  great  gentleness  of  spirit ;  and 
wherever  he  was  known,  he  was  held  in  universal 
respect  and  honor.  As  Presiding  Bishop,  he  won  for 
himself  the  increasing  love  and  reverence  of  all  his 
brethren. 


204  EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAI,  ADDRESSES. 


L  t 


i 


Colorado. 

The  late   Bishop  of  Delaware,  for  three  years  the 
Presiding  Bishop,  was  not  the  least  of  the  three  great 
Bishops  of  the   Church,   who  have  entered  into  rest 
during  the  past  year.     It  was  given  to  him  to  unite, 
in  a  remarkable  degree,  clear  thinking  and  accurate 
scholarship  with   intensely   practical   views   of  policy 
and  administration.      With  a  small  Diocese,  which  he 
could  work  effectively,  and  yet  pass  his  years  in  the 
enjoyment  of  the  quietness  and  confidences  of  pastoral 
life,  he  was  able  to  pursue,  even  to  the  last,  his  scrip- 
tural  studies,    and    give   them   practical  direction  for 
teaching  purposes,  and  also  to  devote  much  time  and 
thought  to  the  general  work  of  the  House  of  Bishops 
and  of  the  Church  at  large.      Whether  as  serving  on 
the  Mexican  Commission  and   on  committees  of  the 
General  Convention,  or  as  fulfilling  the  duties  of  Pri- 
mate of  the  American  Church,  he  was  ever  the  careful, 
painstaking,   clear-sighted,  practical   Christian   Bishop,' 
commanding  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  in  his 
ability,    sincerity   and    conscientiousness   of  character, 
and  as  one  who  ever  had   the  courage  of  his  convic' 
tions.     The  great  deference  paid  him  as  presiding  offi- 
cer in  the  House  of  Bishops  and  in  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions,  at  their  late  sessions,  was  very  marked.      None 
could  but   feel  that    he  eminently  deserved  the  high 
regard  and  honors  paid  him. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


205 


Milwaukee. 

Bishop  Lee,  of  Delaware,  and  Bishop  Stevens,  of 
Pennsylvania,  intimately  associated  in  their  lives,  were 
not  long  separated  in  death.  They  were  both  men 
of  eminent  abilities,  of  wide  experience,  of  deep  per- 
sonal piety  and  abiding  influence.  They  filled  posi- 
tions of  great  responsibility,  and  were  faithful  and 
conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  duty. 


Kentucky. 

In  the  last  seven  months  three  of  our  most  venera- 
ble and  venerated  Fathers  in  God  have  entered  into 
their  rest.  Bishop  Potter,  of  New  York,  departed  this 
life  on  the  2d  day  of  January  last,  having  accomplished 
the  fourscore  years  of  service ;  Bishop  Green,  of  Mis- 
sissippi, departed  this  life  on  the  13th  day  of  February 
last,  in  the  eighty-ninth  year  of  his  age ;  and  Alfred 
Lee,  Bishop  of  Delaware  and  Presiding  Bishop,  de- 
parted this  life  on  the  I2th  day  of  April  last,  in  the 
eightieth  year  of  his  age.  Each  of  them  came  to  his 
grave  as  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe  and  ready  for  the 
garner.  Each  of  them  possessed  to  the  very  end  the 
undiminished  spiritual  vision,  the  unabated  spiritual 
force,  and  could  bear  testimony,  in  death  as  in  life,  to 
the  power  of  His  grace  whom  for  so  many  years  he 
had  served.  Let  us  thank  God  for  the  good  examples 
of  these  His  servants.  Let  us  pray  for  strength  to 
follow  them  even  as  they  did  follow  Christ 


■A 


2o6  EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


Hi 


f 


New  Jersey. 

Three  of  our  oldest  and  most  venerated  Bishops  have 
died  in  the  past  few  months.      ******* 
Bishop  Lee,  the  oldest  of  the  three  by  consecration, 
though  not  in  years,  was  called  hence  amid  the  Easter 
songs  of  the  Church.     Though  seemingly  frail  in  body, 
he  had  a  strong  and  vigorous  mind.     He  had  clear 
convictions  of  truth,  which  he  did  not  cover  up  nor 
conceal.     His  theology  was  not  of  the  hazy  indefinite 
type,  which  is  becoming  quite  too  much   the  fashion 
in  this  day.     He  was  a  Biblical  scholar  of  no  mean 
attainments.     In  the  House  of  Bishops  he  was  always 
listened  to  with   most  respectful  attention.      He  was 
one  of  the  best  Presiding  Bishops  the  Church  has  ever 
had,  his  early  training  making  him  a  man  of  affairs. 
I  had  a  loving  letter  from  him  just  before  his  last  ill- 
ness,   in  which   he  spoke  with   tender  feeling  of  the 
affectionate    confidence    of   his    brother    Bishops,    all 
through  the  sessions  of  the  late  General  Convention 
in  Chicago.     He  was  buried  in  the  church  yard  of  the 
old  Swedes'  Church,  Wilmington. 

The  manifestations  of  respect  shown  to  his  memory 
proved  that  his  residence  there  of  near  a  half  a  cen- 
tury had  given  him  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  peo- 
ple, such  as  any  man  dying  might  covet  for  himself. 


Western  Michigan. 

The  Right  Rev.  Alfred  Lee,   D.D.,  LL.D.,  Bishop 
of  Delaware,    and   for   three  years   Presiding  Bishop, 


extracts  from  annual  addresses. 


207 


died  on  Tuesday  in  Easter  week,  April  12,  1887.  The 
gentle  manner  of  the  Prelate  was  expressive  of  his 
character.  No  dignity  of  age  or  position  could  force 
him  out  of  the  bearing  of  **a  meek  and  quiet  spirit'' 
Yet  he  was  *' valiant  for  the  truth''  he  loved.  No 
mind,  unless  swayed  by  prejudice  or  partiality,  could 
but  admire  him  in  the  last  General  Convention,  so 
pronounced  for  the  Church's  self-respect,  while  yet  she 
extended  the  hand  of  fellowship;  so  willing  to  recog- 
nize what  time  and  circumstances  demanded  in  her 
worship,  and  withal  so  resolute  not  to  give  place  **by 
subjection,  no,  not  for  an  hour,"  to  relaxing  the  Creed, 
or  moulding  the  Ritual  to  a  pernicious  ceremonialism 
or  modern  taste.  **He  would  never  arrogate  to  the 
Church  what  belonged  to  individuals  nor  would  he 
allow  individuals  to  assume  what  belonged  to  the 
Church."  (Sermon  by  Rev.  H.  C.  Dyer.)  His  Chris- 
tian scholarship  was  recognized  in  his  selection  as  a 
member  of  the  American  Branch  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment  Revision  Committee. 


/ 


Chicago. 

With  the  whole  Church  we  mourn  the  death  of 
three  venerable  Bishops,  men  of  different  types  of  char- 
acter and  thought,  but  wonderfully  alike  as  we  see 
them  in  the  softened  light  of  an  honored  old  age,  alike 
in  this,  that  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  hung  upon  them 
in  clusters  so  thick  as  to  hide  from  sight  the  varied 
shapes  of  the  branches  beneath.      When  such  men  as 


<i 


208 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAI,  ADDRBSSES. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


209 


Horatio  Potter,  William  Mercer  Green  and  Alfred  Lee, 
are  taken  from  us,  the  Church  is  bereaved  indeed. 


( 


If, 

r 


Fond  du  Lac. 

During  the  last  year,  three  of  our  most  venerable 
Bishops  have  laid  down  their  pastoral  staves  and  passed 
into  that  other  fold  where  the  Good  Shepherd  Him- 
self keeps  watch  over  both  His  wearied  helpers  and 
their  sleeping  flocks.  Bishop  Potter,  of  New  York, 
Bishop  Green,  of  Mississippi,  and  Bishop  Lee,  of  Del- 
aware, in  fulness  of  years,  saintliness  of  character  and 
ripeness  of  experience,  were  in  the  forefront  of  their 
brethren,  and  manifestly  near  the  land  of  rest  Bishop 
Lee,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  holding  the  honorable 
office  of  Presiding  Bishop  of  the  American  Church, 
was  a  Churchman  of  a  different  stamp  from  that  of 
either  of  his  two  colleagues  just  mentioned.  Of  deli- 
cate physical  constitution,  he  was  unusually  active  in 
intellect,  learned,  astute,  fervid  and  with  more  of  the 
courage  of  his  convictions  than  was  always  agreeable 
to  those  that  differed  from  him.  Each  of  these  three 
venerable  men,  strongly  marked  by  individual  pecu- 
liarities, was  ripened,  sanctified  and  made  ready  for 
Paradise. 


West  Virginia. 

The  high  position,   rare  qualities  and  character  of 
Bishop  Lee  have  made  his  loss  felt  throughout  the 


world.  He  held  firmly  those  views  of  the  Church  and 
the  Ministry  and  the  Sacraments  which  are  known  as 
evangelical ;  but  while  he  contended  earnestly  for  the 
faith,  he  was  gentle  towards  all  men,  furnishing  to  us 
all  a  bright  and  consistent  example  of  one  who  could 
speak  what  he  believed  to  be  the  truth,  yet  always  in 
love.  Bishop  Lee  was  not  only  the  Presiding  Bishop 
of  our  Church,  but  the  Senior  Bishop  of  the  Anglican 
Communion  throughout  the  world.  He  now  rests  from 
his  labors,  and  his  works  do  follow  him. 


Springfield. 

The  late  Bishop  of  Delaware,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Lee, 
died  in  his  picturesque  home  on  the  banks  of  the 
Brandywine,  on  Tuesday,  the  12th  of  last  month 
(April).  He  was  on  the  verge  of  fourscore  years,  the 
allotted  term  of  human  life,  his  next  birthday,  Sep- 
tember 9th,  completing  the  measure,  as  he  was  born 

in  1807. 

He  was  called  at  an  unusually  early  age  to  the  Epis- 
copate in  184 1,  and  sat  as  the  first  Bishop  of  his  See 
for  neariy  six-and-forty  years.  When  Dr.  Lee  was 
consecrated,  October  12th,  1841,  there  were  but  twenty 
Bishops  in  the  Church  in  the  United  States ;  when 
he  died  there  were  sixty-five,  and  two  Bishops-elect 
awaiting  consecration,  and  two  vacancies  to  be  filled, 
in  all  sixty-nine.  A  wonderful  growth,  as  he  rose 
from  the  bottom  of  the  list  to  the  top,  and  saw  the 
twenty  who  greeted  him  as  their  youngest  brother, 
14 


2IO 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


when  he  entered  the  House  on  his  consecration,  since 
the  General  Convention  was  in  session  at  the  time  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  and  he,  therefore,  immediately 
took  his  place  among  his  Brethren ;  a  wonderful 
growth,  we  say,  has  taken  place,  since  Bishop  Lee  in 
184 1  saw  twenty  Bishops  in  advance  of  him,  with 
none  behind  him,  and  in  1887  looked  back  upon  sixty- 
four  behind  him,  and  he  the  first,  the  Presiding  Bishop. 
The  twenty  had  sunk  into  the  grave,  and  he,  the 
youngest,  had  become  the  oldest  in  office,  and  placed 
his  Diocese,  among  the  smallest  in  the  American 
Church,  in  the  same  rank  with  Canterbury,  and  York, 
and  Armagh,  and  Dublin,  as  a  Primatial  See,  govern- 
ing a  Province,  and  virtually  making  its  incumbent 
an  Archbishop. 

Bishop  Lee  was  very  far,  almost  as  far  as  possible, 
from  taking  to  himself  titles  and  distinctions.  In  life 
and  tastes  he  was  very  simple  and  unostentatious. 
But  the  reality  may  exist  without  the  name,  and  the 
American  Church,  as  now  constituted,  is  in  fact  one 
huge  province,  and  the  Bishop,  who  presides  over  it, 
is  in  effect  an  Archbishop.  The  contrasts  show  the 
growth,  and  we  suggest  them  as  illustrating  in  an  in- 
teresting way  the  advance  which  we,  as  a  branch  of 
God's  Church,  have  made  during  the  Episcopate  of 
the  late  Presiding  Bishop.  The  theological  position 
of  Bishop  Lee  was  seriously  affected  and  permanently 
influenced  by  the  experiences  which  almost  immedi- 
ately fell  upon  him  as  he  entered  the  Episcopate. 
The  Tractarian  excitement  in  England  was  on  the 
increase ;  this  country  felt  and  was  feeling  more  and 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAI,  ADDRESSES. 


211 


more  the  shock.     Rome  had  not  yet  put  up  the  bars, 
which  now  shut  out  all  but  ultramontanists  from  her 
communion  ;  eminent  and   godly  men   had   gone  and 
were  going  into  the  papal  schism  ;  alarm  was  felt  on 
all  sides,  and  generated  strife,  bitterness,  wrath,  per- 
secution.     Good  men  and  true  caught  the  distemper ; 
ecclesiastical  trials  were  promoted  ;  parties  were  formed ; 
party  lines  were  drawn  ;  men  were  judged  not  by  their 
lives  and  works,  but  by  their  affiliations,  and  the  dis- 
mal lesson  was  learned  of  shutting  persons  out  from 
preferment,  not  for  any  want  of  capacity  or  learning 
or  intrinsic  worth,  but  because  they  could  not  consci- 
entiously pronounce  the  partisan  shibboleths,  nor  bring 
themselves  to  accept  the  partisan  beliefs,  nor  sustain 
the  partisan  methods.     Those  were  evil  days,  and  the 
air  was  infected  with   distrust,  suspicion,  strife,  back- 
biting, slandering,  malice,  and  it  was  next  to  impos- 
sible for  any  one  to  escape  an   unnatural  heating  of 
his  blood,  if  he  did   not  actually  take  the  fever.      It 
speaks  volumes  for  one's  inner  spiritual  life  and  steadi- 
ness of  head  and  goodness  of  heart,  if  he  controlled 
himself  when  breathing  such  an  atmosphere  of  noxious 
vapors,  and  moving  in   the   midst  of  such  disordered 
spirits  and  unruly  tongues.     Such  praise,  if  not  with- 
out qualification,  must  be  accorded  the  late  Presidinir 
Bishop.     He  struggled  against  the  prevailing  influences 
of  the  locality  where  he  lived,  the  effect  of  which  was 
to  render  a  man  the  blind  slave  of  party,  and  while 
he  did  not  escape  a  permanent  impression  from  these 
earlier  experiences  of  his  Episcopate,  still  he  rose  su- 
perior to   the   worse   consequences  of  the   theological 


\-^ 


212 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


malaria,  and  secured  and  retained  to  the  last  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  all,  as  a  good  man,  striving  to  do  his 
duty. 


Michigan. 

Since  we  last  met,  three  Bishops  of  the  American 
Church  have  gone  to  their  reward — the  Bishop  of  Del- 
aware, the  Bishop  of  Mississippi,  and  the  Bishop  of 
New  York.  Each  v:as  a  man  of  marked  individuality. 
Each  was  distinguished  as  a  wise  ruler  and  known  as 
a  pure-hearted  man  of  God. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  saying  a  word  to  express  my 
sense  of  personal  loss  in  the  death  of  the  late  Bishop 
of  Delaware,  for  some  years  our  venerable  and  beloved 
Presiding  Bishop.  He  was  a  man  of  sound  learning, 
of  clear  views  and  well-defined  convictions,  and  of  noble 
courage  in  bearing  testimony  to  them.  These  qualities, 
which  made  him  one  of  the  great  prelates  of  our 
Church,  were  well  known  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
What  I  feel  it  a  duty,  as  well  as  privilege,  to  record 
is  my  sense  of  a  personal  kindness  often  extended  to  me, 
which,  coming  as  it  did  from  one  so  much  my  senior 
in  dignity  and  years,  was  an  unspeakable  encourage- 
ment and  blessing.  The  fact  that  I  not  infrequently 
found  myself  unable  to  agree  with  measures  which  were 
dear  to  hi'm,  only  seemed  to  enhance  his  kindness, 
which  certainly  gave  proof  of  a  breadth  of  sympathy 
and  a  genuine  catholicity  of  spirit  which  he  was  not 
always  credited  with  by  those  who  did  not  know  him 
well.     I  trust  it  is  not  improper  for  me,  speaking  in 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


213 


this  place,  to  bear  my  grateful  testimony  to  what  it 
was  my  privilege  to  know  of  his  apostolic  charity  and 
paternal  kindness  of  heart. 


Newark. 

On  the  1 2th  of  April,  1887,  the  Right  Rev.  Alfred 
Lee,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Delaware,  and  Presiding  Bishop 
of  the  Church  in  the  United  States,  passed  away,  after 
an  illness  of  some  weeks.  He  had  reached  the  age 
of  seventy-nine  years.  Bishop  Lee  was  a  man  of  learn- 
ing and  ability,  and  was,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  only 
Church  Divine  in  the  Company  of  American  Revisers 
of  the  Anglican  translation  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 
In  churchmanship  he  belonged  to  the  old  Evangelical 
school,  yet  always  in  a  spirit  of  charity.  Bishop  Lee^s 
gentle  but  dignified  presence  and  calm  judgment  will  be 
missed  from  many  a  place  to  which  the  position  which 
he  occupied  frequently  called  him  in  the  way  of  public 
duty. 

Louisiana. 

Since  we  last  met  in  Council,  the  Church  in  America 
has  lost  by  death  three  of  its  most  venerated  prelates, 
the  Presiding  Bishop  Lee,  of  Delaware  ;  Bishop  Potter, 
of  New  York,  and  Bishop  Green,  of  Mississippi.  Al- 
though this  hour  demands  no  eulogy  of  these  eminent 
servants  of  the  Church,  I  must  at  least  reverently  call 
their  names  in  your  presence,  and,  with  you,  thank  God 


M 


11 


% 


i" 


I 


212 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


malaria,  and  secured  and  retained  to  the  last  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  all,  as  a  good  man,  striving  to  do  his 
duty. 

Michigan. 

Since  we  last  met,  three  Bishops  of  the  American 
Church  have  gone  to  their  reward — the  Bishop  of  Del- 
aware, the  Bishop  of  Mississippi,  and  the  Bishop  of 
New  York.  Each  v/as  a  man  of  marked  individuality. 
Each  was  distinguished  as  a  wise  ruler  and  known  as 
a  pure-hearted  man  of  God. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  saying  a  word  to  express  my 
sense  of  personal  loss  in  the  death  of  the  late  Bishop 
of  Delaware,  for  some  years  our  venerable  and  beloved 
Presiding  Bishop.  He  was  a  man  of  sound  learning, 
of  clear  views  and  well-defined  convictions,  and  of  noble 
courage  in  bearing  testimony  to  them.  These  qualities, 
which  made  him  one  of  the  great  prelates  of  our 
Church,  were  well  known  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
What  I  feel  it  a  duty,  as  well  as  privilege,  to  record 
is  my  sense  of  a  personal  kindness  often  extended  to  me, 
which,  coming  as  it  did  from  one  so  much  my  senior 
in  dignity  and  years,  was  an  unspeakable  encourage- 
ment and  blessing.  The  fact  that  I  not  infrequently 
found  myself  unable  to  agree  with  measures  which  were 
dear  to  hi'm,  only  seemed  to  enhance  his  kindness, 
which  certainly  gave  proof  of  a  breadth  of  sympathy 
and  a  genuine  catholicity  of  spirit  which  he  was  not 
always  credited  with  by  those  who  did  not  know  him 
well.     I  trust  it  is  not  improper  for  me,  speaking  in 


II 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


213 


this  place,  to  bear  my  grateful  testimony  to  what  it 
was  my  privilege  to  know  of  his  apostolic  charity  and 
paternal  kindness  of  heart 


Newark. 

On  the  1 2th  of  April,  1887,  the  Right  Rev.  Alfred 
Lee,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Delaware,  and  Presiding  Bishop 
of  the  Church  in  the  United  States,  passed  away,  after 
an  illness  of  some  weeks.  He  had  reached  the  age 
of  seventy-nine  years.  Bishop  Lee  was  a  man  of  learn- 
ing and  ability,  and  was,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  only 
Church  Divine  in  the  Company  of  American  Revisers 
of  the  Anglican  translation  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 
In  churchmanship  he  belonged  to  the  old  Evangelical 
school,  yet  always  in  a  spirit  of  charity.  Bishop  Lee's 
gentle  but  dignified  presence  and  calm  judgment  will  be 
missed  from  many  a  place  to  which  the  position  which 
he  occupied  frequently  called  him  in  the  way  of  public 
duty, 

Louisiana. 

Since  we  last  met  in  Council,  the  Church  in  America 
has  lost  by  death  three  of  its  most  venerated  prelates, 
the  Presiding  Bishop  Lee,  of  Delaware  ;  Bishop  Potter, 
of  New  York,  and  Bishop  Green,  of  Mississippi.  Al- 
though this  hour  demands  no  eulogy  of  these  eminent 
servants  of  the  Church,  I  must  at  least  reverently  call 
their  names  in  your  presence,  and,  with  you,  thank  God 


r*. 


ll^J 


'•c?j»r?;w- 


0 

4 


L'l 


214 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


for  the  good  examples  of  His  under-shepherds.  Blame- 
less in  life,  devout  in  spirit,  accomplished  in  mind,  and 
fruitful  in  work,  they  have  passed  to  the  rest  that 
remaineth  for  the  people  of  God. 


Pittsburgh. 

The  Church  throughout  the  whole  land  has  been 
called  upon  to  mourn  the  departure  of  our  venera- 
ble Presiding  Bishop,  who  for  forty-five  years  had 
exercised  the  office  of  Bishop  of  Delaware,  loved  and 
revered  throughout  the  nation,  and  far  beyond  our 
limits,  where  his  name  and  face  were  known.  Dis- 
tinguished for  lofty  individuality  of  character,  defi- 
nite views  strenuously  held,  unwearied  labors,  high- 
born courtesy,  clear  judgment,  unblemished  life,  the 
memory  of  Alfred  Lee,  Bishop  of  Delaware,  is  and 
will  ever  be  precious  to  every  true  son  of  this  Church 
in  this  land.  Would  that  all  the  representatives  of 
.the  Church  might  carry  about  with  them  a  like  mani- 
fest witness  to  the  truth  and  power  of  the  religion 
which  they  profess  and  teach. 


Mississippi. 

Our  Primus  and  Head,  the  venerated  Alfred  Lee, 
Bishop  of  Delaware,  and  Presiding  Bishop  of  the 
American  Church,  was  called  to  his  rest  but  the  other 
day.  He  leaves  to  the  Church  on  earth  the  heritage 
of  a  stainless  name,  and  a  holy  memory,  and  takes 


y 


\  M 


EXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


215 


a  seat  among  the  Bishops  and  Doctors  of  all  time. 
The  Church  that  trains  such  a  son,  and  elevates 
such  a  man  to  her  high  places  of  hard  work  and 
lowly  honor,  wears  the  living  symbols  and  signs  of 
Apostolic  life  and  character. 


Indiana. 


Those  who  witnessed  the  feebleness  of  the  vener- 
able Presiding  Bishop  in  the  last  General  Convention, 
were  not  surprised  to  learn  that  he  had  been  called 
to  his  rest.  He  was  a  godly  and  well-learned  man, 
who  had  rendered  long  and  faithful  service  to  the 
Church  in  the  Episcopate. 


New  York. 

The  Bishop  of  Delaware  was,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  our  Presiding  Bishop,  and  adorned  a  station  in 
which  he  had  eminent  predecessors,  by  a  wisdom  of 
administration,  a  humility,  gentleness,  and  unswerving 
devotion  to  duty,  which  made  him  alike  beloved  and 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  A  scholar  of  solid 
and  various  attainments,  a  preacher  of  the  truth,  as 
he  held  it,  in  love  and  fearlessness,  a  Christian  gen- 
tleman,  singularly  untouched  by  the  coarser  and  more 
sordid  airs  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  his  rule 
was  a  blessing  and  an  honor  to  the  whole  Church, 
and  his  memory  one  of  its  choicest  heritages. 


i 


\ 


2l6 


]eXTRACTS  FROM  ANNUAL  ADDRESSES. 


1^ 


East  Carouna. 

Our  late  Presiding  Bishop,  whose  familiar  face  and 
form  were  daily  with  us  during  the  deliberations  of 
last  October,  has  gone  to  his  rest. 

After  an  Episcopate  of  more  than  forty-five  years, 
full  of  honors,  he  has  surrendered  his  post  as  Chief 
Watchman  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States  for  a 
position  yet  nearer  to  his  beloved  Master. 


Maryi^and. 

Since  we  last  met,  three  Bishops  of  the  Church  in 
this  nation  have  been  taken  away  :  Bishop  Green,  of 
Mississippi,  Bishop  Potter,  of  New  York,  and  Bishop 
Lee,  of  Delaware,  and  Presiding  Bishop  of  our  national 
Church.  Such  men  belong  not  to  their  own  Dioceses 
only.  Every  Diocese  can  claim  part  in  them.  They 
were  too  well  known  in  the  Church  to  need  my 
praise.  They  died  full  of  years,  full  of  honor,  and,  if 
the  reverence  of  the  whole  Church  be  not  mistaken, 
with  full  assurance  of  glorious  reward  **when  their 
Lord  Cometh." 


I 


COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICE, 
October   i2th,   1887. 


'<ll 


i^ 


' 


On  Wednesday,  October  i2Th,  1887,  being  the  Forty^ixth 
Anniversary  op  the  consecration  op  Bishop  Lee,  a  speciai, 

COMMEMORATION   SERVICE  WAS    HELD    IN    ST.   ANDREW'S  CHURCH, 
WlWilNGTON. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Gibson  read  the  opening  service  through 

THE  PSAWER,  THE  REV.   Mr.   Henry  THE  PIRST  I,ESSON  (ISAIAH, 

52ND  Chapter),  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lightner  the  second  i^sson 
(Acts  20:  17),  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  the  Creed  and 
Prayers  ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Murray  announced  the  450TH  Hymn. 
The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Jui^ius  E.  Grammer, 
D.D.,  Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Bai^timore.  After  the 
SERMON  the  199TH  Hymn  was  sung,  and  the  service  concluded 
with  prayer  and  the  benediction. 


Sorrowing  inost  of  all  for  the  words  which  he  spake^ 
that  they  should  see  his  face  no  more, — Acts  xx.  38. 

There  were  few  occasions  in  the  ministry  of  St.  Paul, 
marked  by  more  tender  and  loving  sympathy  than 
that,  on  which  he  bade  adieu  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus. 

They  had  come  to  Miletus  to  receive  his  greeting, 
and  he  gave  them  the  earnest  charge  to  **feed  the 
Church  of  God  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own 

blood.'' 

He  had  been  a  pattern  and  example  to  them  of 
what  a  minister  and  chief  pastor  ought  to  be.  He 
had  adorned  his  faith  by  his  works  and  was  ready  to 
close  his  career  in  triumph.  Brave,  true  and  self- 
denying,  he  is  to  leave  them  for  ever,  and  it  is  written 
that  the  devoted  brethren  fell  upon  his  neck  and  kissed 
him,  sorrowing  most  of  all  that  they  should  see  his 
face  no  more. 

We  may  well  apply  these  words,  to-day,  to  the  late 

lamented  and  most  beloved   Presiding  Bishop  of  our 

Church.     He  lived  for  so  many  years  in  this  city,  which 

his  presence  distinguished,  as  the  Rector  of  this  honored 

Church,    as  the  only  Bishop  of  this   Diocese  ;   was  a 

man  of  such  marked  attainments  in  religious  character, 

and  such  ripe  scholarship,  that  we  may  well  renew  the 

tribute  so  faithfully  made  by  others.      Especially  is  it 

proper  to  do  so  now,  on   this  the  anniversary  of  his 

consecration  to  the  Episcopate.     Tuesday,  October  12, 

219 


IV- 


i 


220 


COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICE. 


^ 


1841,  in  St  Paul's  Chapel,  New  York,  he  was  set 
apart  for  that  high  oflSce.  Happy  day  for  the  Church, 
for  the  Diocese,  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  when  this 
faithful  soldier  of  the  cross  stood  forth  to  be  com- 
missioned anew  for  a  wider  field,  a  larger  command, 
and  a  more  conspicuous  and  glorious  warfare  in  the 
army  of  the  Church  militant 

In  the  study  of  his  life  and  character,  as  a  man^  all 
who  knew  him  were  impressed  by  his  personal  piety. 
This  was  his  chief  ornament ;  and  the  motto  of  his  life 
was  that  sentence  on  the  mitre  of  the  Jewish  High 
Priest,  ** Holiness  unto  the  Lord." 

It  was  an  august  and  memorable  occasion  when 
he  was  consecrated  to  office  in  the  presence  of  the  as- 
sembled Church  at  its  representative  Council  in  1841 ; 
but  it  was  a  more  momentous  and  significant  event 
when  he  consecrated  his  early  manhood  to  the  life  of 
a  servant  of  Christ  His  conversion  to  God  was  so  real 
and  lasting,  that  the  light,  kindled  in  his  heart  then, 
shone  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. 

Of  blameless  purity,  of  sensitive  and  scrupulous  con- 
scientiousness;  in  private  and  official  relations,  jealous 
of  the  truth,  vigilant  against  the  insidious  approaches 
of  sin  and  temptation,  he  never  forgot  the  solemn 
charge,  given  at  his  consecration,  from  the  lips  of  the 
gifted  Mcllvaine,  **Take  heed  unto  thyself  and  the 
doctrine,  continue  in  them,  for  in  so  doing  thou  shalt 
both  save  thyself  and  them  that  hear  thee."  He  was 
a  living  epistle  known  and  read  of  all  men.  His  life 
was  the  illustration  of  his  faith,  and  the  reflection  of 
his  teaching  in  the  pulpit 


/I 


REV.  JULIUS  E.   GRAMMER,   D.D. 


221 


In  his  presence  one  felt  the  influence  of  his  calm, 
patient  and  peaceful  spirit,  as  when  the  gentle  spring 
warms,  refreshes  and  inspires  with  new  life.  Privileged 
to  be  with  him  often  in  his  home,  surrounded  by  his 
family,  I  may  say  of  him  what  Bishop  Burnet  said  of 
Archbishop  Leigh  ton,  "I  never  saw  him  in  any  other 
frame  of  mind,  than  that  in  which  I  would  be  content 
to  die."  You  were  all  witnesses  of  his  brave,  patient, 
gentle,  strong  character.  There  was  nothing  in  his 
nature  of  stormy  vehemence  or  rash  impulse,  nothing  of 
the  Boanerges,  calling  down  fire  in  indignant  impa- 
tience, but  a  great  deal  of  that  spirit  of  Christ  which 
healed  and  forbore.  His  was  the  power  of  the  still  small 
voice,  and  it  was  the  power  of  God,  working  through 
him.  Some  men  are  meek  and  silent  from  timidity 
and  incompetence.  Bishop  Lee  united  the  simplicity 
of  a  child  to  the  mental  vigor  of  a  strong  man.  With 
learning,  culture  and  a  large  observation,  gifted  as  a 
writer,  eminent  as  a  reasoner  and  polemical  controver- 
sialist, he  was  noticeably  a  modest  and  meek  man. 
His  virtues  were  like  the  sweet  spices  of  the  East; 
not  so  sparkling  as  rich  and  refreshing.  They  were 
developed  by  the  attrition  of  close  intercourse  and  did 
not  boastfully  challenge  one's  notice.  He  might  be 
likened  to  a  volume  of  solid  binding  and  yet  precious 
for  the  treasures  of  knowledge  in  it 

With  great  discernment  of  character,  wonderful  self- 
control,  he  united  learning  to  meekness  and  purity  to 
humility.  He  gave  dignity  and  significance  to  his 
office.  It  has  been  said  that  some  men  are  born 
great  and  some  have  greatness  thrust  upon  them.     He 


■  / 


I 


222 


COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICE. 


r 


was  great  in  his  achievetiients,  in  his  influence  and  in 
his  character  and  office. 

We  sorrow  to-day  that  we  shall  see  his  face  no 
more.  We  study  the  symmetry  and  beauty  of  his 
character,  rising  like  some  polished  slab  of  pure  mar- 
ble and  reflecting  the  lustre  of  day  on  its  summit. 
The  monument  of  his  life  and  work,  of  his  writings 
and  example,  is  before  us  ;  but  we  shall  see  his  face 
no  more.      "Blessed   are   the   dead   who   die    in    the 

Lord.'' 

2.  We  sorrow  for  him  as  a  faithful  pastor.  He 
loved  the  lowly  ministries  of  a  sympathizing  friend 
and  comforting  teacher,  in  the  homes  of  all  alike. 
'*He  went  about  doing  good."  The  savor  of  his  ex- 
ample in  the  circle  of  his  ministries  is  as  ointment 
poured  forth  ;  and  men  **took  knowledge  of  him  that 
he  had  been  with  Jesus."  Doubtless  his  influence  for 
good,  by  his  private  and  pastoral  ministries,  will  yield 
in  the  last  day  as  gracious  a  return  as  the  more  pub- 
lic and  noted  offices  of  the  pulpit.  Rich  and  poor 
felt  alike  the  elevating  influence  of  his  person.  He 
approved  himself  to  the  conscience  as  a  minister  of 
Christ,  **By  pureness,  by  knowledge,  by  the  word  of 
truth,  by  the  armor  of  righteousness  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left"  He  fed  the  flock  of  God  and  led 
them  by  the  green  pastures  of  rich  expositions  and 
by  the  still  waters  of  heavenly  meditations. 

His  writings,  so  practical,  scriptural  and  full  of 
instruction  in  righteousness,  supplemented  his  work 
as  a  pastor,  and  will  long  be  as  the  manna  to  the 
pilgrim  in  the  wilderness  and  as  the  sweet  water  out 


REV.  JULIUS  E.   GRAMMER,   D.D. 


223 


of  the  rock  in  his  journeyings.  He  fed  his  church, 
his  Diocese,  and  many  a  soul  with  the  bread  of  life, 
and  with  a  faithful  heart  he  led  them.  His  sympa- 
thies went  out  to  all  in  sorrow,  and  with  the  tongue 
of  the  wise  he  spoke  a  word  in  season  to  all  those 
who  were  weary.  Though  dead,  he  yet  speaketh ; 
and  his  influence,  like  a  star,  shedding  its  lustre  to 
cheer  and  guide,  will  long  bless  the  generations  to 
come.  As  the  sympathetic,  faithful  pastor,  we  shall 
see  his  face  no  more,  and  for  this  we  sorrow. 

3.  We  lament  that  we  shall  see  his  face  no  more 
as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel, 

Grave,  sincere,  unaffected,  he  reminded  us  of  Cow- 
per's  beautiful  portrait  of  a  minister  of  Christ : — 

*•  Armed  himself  in  panoply  complete 
Of  heavenly  temper,  furnishes  with  arms 
Bright  as  his  own,  and  trains,  by  every  rule 
Of  holy  discipline,  to  glorious  war 
The  sacramental  host  of  God's  elect." 

Thoroughly  furnished,  he  was  a  workman  who 
needed  not  to  be  ashamed,  and  rightly  divided  the 
word  of  truth.  Equal  to  the  most  august  and  impor- 
tant  occasions,  he  brought  to  the  preparation  of  his 
sermons  such  solid  thought  and  earnestness  of  appeal 
as  commanded  the  reverent  attention  of  his  hearers. 
The  purity  of  his  style,  the  fitness  of  his  language, 
and  the  spirituality  of  his  composition,  rendered  him 
a  profitable  and  edifying  preacher. 

Christ  was  the  theme  of  his  sermons.  He  loved 
the  Church,  and  vindicated  with  masterly  ability  her 


w 


\ 


224 


COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICE. 


doctrine  and  polity.  He  was  thoroughly  versed  in 
her  history  and  laws.  But  he  was  particularly  eminent 
as  a  preacher  of  Christ  He  did  not  allow  himself  to 
be  tempted  or  drawn  aside  by  speculations  or  false 
philosophies.  The  essential  principles  of  our  faith, 
for  the  most  part,  occupied  his  thoughts  in  the  pulpit, 
and  the  main  design  of  his  preaching  was  manifestly 
to  lead  men  to  Christ.  He  spoke  what  he  knew  and 
testified  to  what  he  saw.  A  man  of  one  book,  of  one 
Master,  he  had  one  great  aim,  to  teach  and  preach 
Christ  as  the  sinner* s  only  hope  and  help. 

Long  in  one  pulpit,  he  illustrated  the  exhaustless 
freshness  of  thought  which  the  sacred  study  of  the 
Bible  furnishes.  He  made  full  proof  of  his  ministry. 
Like  the  miner  who  keeps  his  safety-lamp  in  his  hand 
amid  the  deadly  gases  of  the  earth,  so  he  held  to  the 
word  of  God  as  a  light  to  his  path,  saving  him  from 
the  poison  of  false  teaching  and  the  unwholesome 
vapors  of  unsanctified  learning.  All  through  his  min- 
istry he  kept  the  trust  committed  to  him  at  his  ordi- 
nation, and  the  words  of  that  great  charge  were  ringing 
in  his  ears  and  calling  him  to  take  heed  to  himself 
and  the  doctrine.  He  was  brave  in  his  declaration 
of  the  truth,  and  shunned  not  to  declare  the  whole 
counsel  of  God.  His  sermon  before  the  General  Con- 
vention on  **Hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  to  the 
Churches,"  was  a  striking  illustration  of  his  fearless 
conscientiousness  and  of  his  fidelity  as  a  watchman 
on  the  walls  of  Zion.  There  was  no  uncertain  sound 
in  his  trumpet,  and  its  clear,  rich  notes  of  warning 
and  exhortation  rallied  and  stirred  men  for  the  Lord's 


REV.  JULIUS  E.   GRAMMER,  D.D. 

5 

battle.      He  was  ready  with   all  diligence  to  banish 
and  drive  away  all    erroneous    and    strange  teaching 
contrary  to    God's    word.      Where   will    you  find  an 
example  of  a  more  conscientious  and  feariess  defender 
of   the    Church    against    the    adversary,    within    and 
without?     He  spoke  the  truth  in  love,  and  yet  with 
all  boldness.      He  did  not  suffer  a  popular  or  tempt- 
ing   novelty  in    doctrine    to    draw   him    aside,   or  to 
betray  his  pledge  to  minister  **the  doctrines  of  Christ 
as  this  Church  hath  received  the  same."     His  preach- 
ing was  discriminating  and  edifying,  embracing  a  wide 
variety  of  themes   and  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of 
the  times.     As  given  to  reading,  he  was  a  full  man ; 
and  as  a  constant  writer,   he  was  an  accurate  man. 
His  facility  and  exactness   in   composition   made  his 
sermons  models  of  careful  preparation,  and  his  eager 
desire  to  save  souls  imbued  his  pulpit  performances 
with  a  persuasive  spirituality. 

4.  We  sorrow  that  we  shall  see  him  no  more  as  a 
Bishop,     First  in  order  of  consecration  as  the  Presiding 
Bishop  of  our  Church,  his  rank  for  accuracy  and  extent 
of  scholarship,  for  godliness  of  life  and   humility  of 
spirit  was  second  to  none.     He  had  been  faithful  over 
a  few  things  in  his  Diocese,  and  he  was  ruler  over  many 
thinigs  in  the  Church.      Gentleness  and  decision  were 
blended  in  his  character.     His  pastoral  staff  was  made 
up  of  the  gold  of  a  pure  spirit ;  of  the  iron  of  a  strong 
will ;  of  the  silver  of  a  wise  counsel,  and  wreathed  with 
the  flowers  of  a  fragrant  charity.     God  caused  the  rod 
of  his  ministry  to  bloom  with  the  graces  and  fruits  of 
the  Spirit.     Authority  of  ofiice  did  not  beget  austerity 


< 


r\ 


g  COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICE. 

of  manner  or  arrogance  of  spirit.     He  did   not  grasp 
for  power  or  exercise  a  sensitive  jealousy  for  its  asser- 
tion.    There  was  no  morbid  fear  of  losing  the  prerog- 
atives of  his  office  or  unseemly  eagerness  to  claim  them. 
He  did  not  need  to  remind  his  clergy  by  a  rude  and 
abrupt  assertion  that  he  was  Bishop.     On  the  contrary 
all  were  glad  to  accede  to  a  modest  and  persuasive  in- 
fluence  which  learning  and  piety  so  readily  commanded. 
His  administration  of  Canonical  discipline  was  vindi- 
cated by  the  impartial  judgment  of  the  whole  Church, 
and  the  Diocese  reverenced  the  wisdom  and  modera- 
tion,   which   were  tinited  with   courage   and   fidelity. 
There  was  no  vindictive    resentment  in  his  exercise 

of  lawful  authority. 

Certainly  he  was  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ  m  his 
defence  of  the  truth,  and  he  loved  and  trusted  in  the 
power  of  the  truth.      He  did  not  give  place  "for  an 
hour"  to  false  teachers.    The  associates  and  companions 
of  his  ministry,  and  the  saintly  Bishops  and  Presbyters 
who  witnessed  his  consecration,  if  they  could  be  sum- 
moned to-day,  to  give  their  testimony  as  to  his  course 
and  career,  would  with  one  voice,   say,   "Well   done 
good  and  faithful  servant."     Yes,  it  is  the  voice  of  the 
Doncrregation,  and  Diocese,  and  whole  Church,  which 
he  loved  and  served  so  well,  "Well  done."     And  we  are 
assured  it  is  the  earnest  of  that  welcome,  which  shall 
come  from  the  lips  of  the  Chief  Shepherd  and  Bishop 
of  the  Church,  "Well  done."     We  associate  him  with 
Moore  and  Meade,  with  Mcllvaine  and  Johns,  and  Bur- 
gess and  Bedell  and   Stevens,  and  that  noble  band  of 
leaders,  whose  names  are  a  praise  and  joy  in  all  the 


REV.  JUUUS  E.   GRAMMER,  D.D. 


227 


l\ 


Church.  You  have  heard  the  testimony  of  his  brother 
Bishop  of  Central  Pennsylvania,  as  to  his  influence  and 
eflficiency  in  the  House  of  Bishops.  **As  presiding 
ofi&cer,"  he  says,  **  he  manifested  always  the  analytical 
power  of  his  mind,  discerning  accurately  the  points  at 
issue,  familiar  with  the  proper  methods  of  procedure, 
and  in  the  final  statement  of  the  question,  setting  aside 
irrelevant  and  confusing  matter  foisted  into  the  debate, 
he  made  it  by  his  lucid  presentation  of  the  naked  sub- 
ject, easy  for  his  brethren  to  determine  their  own 
position  and  reach,  at  last,  concurrent  and  wise  con- 
clusions.'* Nor  was  it  only  there  that  such  honorable 
testimony  was  given  to  the  calm  and  judicious  spirit 
of  our  dear  Bishop.  Bishop  Bedell  tells  us  that  at  the 
great  assembly  of  Bishops  in  England,  representing  so 
widely  the  leading  men  of  the  Church,  at  home  and 
abroad,  especial  respect  was  paid  to  his  opinion  and  his 
judgment  consulted  with  marked  deference.  He  united 
to  his  faith,  virtue,  and  to  virtue  knowledge.  True 
to  the  Church  and  her  standards,  he  prized  her  ser- 
vices. He  was  true  to  himself  and  in  all  things  ex- 
ercised himself  to  have  a  good  conscience.  He  was 
true  to  Christ.  He  followed  that  charge  of  St.  Paul  to 
the  youthful  Bishop  of  Ephesus, — **In  all  things,  show- 
ing thyself  a  pattern  of  good  works,  in  doctrine,  show- 
ing uncorruptness,  gravity,  sincerity,  sound  speech  that 
cannot  be  condemned.*'  How  true  he  was  to  this 
Diocese,  let  his  faithful  charges,  his  earnest  appeals,  his 
clear  teaching,  testify.  In  all  that  makes  a  good  man, 
at  home,  in  the  pulpit,  in  society,  in  the  Church,  at 
large,  everywhere,  he  was  a  pattern  of  the  Christian. 


I. 


22j 


COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICE. 


REV.  JUUUS  E.   GRAMMER,   D.D. 


229 


From  the  bed  of  his  weariness  he  sent  out  his  blessing 
and  benediction  so  oft  repeated  for  his  Diocese, — **  Now 
the  God  of  peace,  that  brought  again  from  the  dead  our 
Lord  Jesus,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through 
the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  make  you  per- 
fect in  every  good  work  to  do  his  will,  working  in 
you  that  which  is  well  pleasing  in  his  sight,  through 
Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen." 

We  shall  see  him  no  more  in  this  pulpit,  so  iden- 
tified with  a  ministry  of  purity  and  honesty,  so  rich 
in  spiritual  thought  We  shall  see  him  no  more  in 
this  Diocese,  presiding  over  and  guiding  its  interests 
with  such  holy  fidelity.  And  how  greatly  will  his 
presence  be  missed  in  those  organized  bodies  of  our 
Church  founded  for  extending  her  missionary  opera- 
tions along  the  lines  of  distinctive  work !  We  shall 
see  him  no  more  in  those  assemblies  of  kindred  spirits 
whose  motto  was,  **  Apostolic  Order  and  Evangelical 
Truth.''  The  school  of  thought  to  which  he  belonged 
and  of  which  he  was  a  very  distinguished  representa- 
tive, has  largely  influenced  her  ministry  in  times  past 
As  Bishop  Howe  has  so  well  said,  **It  constitutes  an 
element  needed  to  maintain  our  legitimate  balance  and 
influence  as  a  distinctive  branch  of  the  Church  Catholic 
of  Christ — to  win  the  confidence  of  the  Christian  Bodies 
by  whom  we  are  surrounded,  and  to  attract  to  our  com- 
munion those  who  have  heretofore  been  hostile  or  in- 
different to  our  claims.  No  more  worthy  and  judicious 
and  influential  exponent  of  the  religion  of  the  English 
Reformers  has  filled   the  office  of  a   Bishop   in  the 


4 


American  Church,  than  the  venerated  father  whose 
loss  we  mourn  to-day.''  We  are  sorry  that  we  shall 
see  him  no  more  as  the  able  defender  of  our  Church 
against  the  errors  that  disturb  her  peace. 

As  a  platform  speaker,  he  was  calm,  collected  and 
cogent  As  a  controversial  writer,  he  wielded  the  pen 
of  a  master.  Trained  to  a  judicial  study  of  great 
themes  and  educated  in  the  law,  he  was  ready  and 
apt  in  those  disquisitions  demanding  both  learning  and 
close  reasoning.  His  pamphlets,  charges,  addresses, 
treatises,  issued  from  time  to  time,  and  on  critical 
occasions  and  matters  of  high  moment,  numbering  a 
hundred  or  more,  will  form  an  important  contribution 
to  the  literature  of  his  times,  and  be  an  invaluable 
guide  to  all  who  would  distinguish  between  vital  truth 
and  deadly  error. 

To  the  courage  of  a  soldier  he  united  the  learning 
of  a  scholar,  the  humility  of  a  child  and  the  wisdom 
of  a  sage.  Whether  in  the  House  of  Bishops,  in  his 
pulpit  or  in  the  daily  care  of  his  Diocese,  his  heart 
and  mind  were  charged  with  his  high  commission, 
and  he  impressed  you  with  the  seriousness  and  dignity 
of  a  servant  of  God.  We  sorrow  for  such  a  loss  to 
the  Church  and  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  We  bend 
over  his  grave  and  utter  our  lament,  **My  father,  my 
father,  the  chariots  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof" 
Happy  would  it  be  if  his  spirit  should  descend  upon 
us  all !  We  may  well  gather  up  his  parting  counsels, 
and  remember  those  utterances  of  his  last  charge : 
**We  should  be  very  slow  to  remove  any  of  the  old 
landmarks  which  our  fathers  have  set     While  it  may 


■ 


;i 


i 


230 


COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICE. 


be  necessary  and  expedient,  with  lapse  of  years,  to 
consider  special  demands  of  the  age  and  to  relax  some 
bands  that  cripple  and  confine  the  movements  of  the 
body,  there  should  be  no  meddling  with  great  funda- 
mental principles.  The  work  of  the  godly  men  who 
were  called  to  this  duty  has  been  put  to  the  proof  by 
the  events  and  developments  of  a  century,  and  has 
stood  the  test  The  call  should  be  urgent  and  the 
reasons  conclusive  for  any  change."  Surely  when  we 
consider  the  experience,  learning,  piety  and  wisdom 
of  the  writer  of  these  counsels,  we  may  well  lay  them 
to  heart  Nor  should  the  last  tender  message  which 
closes  that  Tenth  Charge  ever  be  forgotten :  **I  desire 
to  respond  earnestly  to  all  the  manifestations  of  love 
and  confidence  which  I  have  received  from  my  brethren 
of  the  Clergy  as  well  as  from  the  Laity  of  this  Diocese. 
The  Lord  reward  them  as  I  cannot" 

We  shall  see  his  face  no  more  in  these  high  and 
sacred  relations ;  nor  in  the  sweet  associations  of  his 
private  life.  His  home  was  beautiful  for  situation,  but 
more  beautiful  for  the  elevating  spirit  of  his  refined 
and  sanctified  influence.  He  was  a  lover  of  hospitality, 
and  enjoyed  all  the  genial  intercourse  of  brethren  and 
friends  attracted  by  his  piety  and  learning.  While 
the  troubled  waters  of  the  Brandywine  dashed  over 
their  rocky  bed,  and  the  surrounding  forests  echoed 
with  the  noise  of  the  water-fall,  the  quiet,  peaceful 
home  of  the  saintly  Bishop  presented  a  striking  con- 
trast It  was  indeed  a  type  of  the  difference  between 
the  restless  life  of  a  worldling  and  the  calm,  restful 
spirit  of  a  Christian.      We  love  to  think  of  him  in 


1 


) 


REV.  JULIUS  E.   GRAMMER,   D.D. 


231 


that  home,  surrounded  by  his  well-used  library,  and 
of  those  familiar  portraits  which  seemed  to  cheer  him 
by  their  silent  presence.  There  was  the  picture  of 
his  loved  friend,  the  eloquent  and  godly  Mcllvaine, 
and  of  Bishop  Chase,  the  pioneer  Bishop  of  Ohio ; 
and  near  by  was  that  loving  testimonial  given  to  him 
by  the  House  of  Bishops  on  the  forty-fifth  anniver- 
sary of  his  Episcopate,  as  a  tribute  to  his  piety  and 
learning  and  good  example  in  the  house  of  God. 
And  above  his  mantel  was  the  picture  of  Jesus,  feed- 
ing His  flock.  Thus  he  linked  himself  in  association 
with  all  that  was  fitted  to  feed  his  taste  and  stir  his 
mind  in  the  pursuit  of  the  lovely  and  true  and  good. 
With  a  keen  enjoyment  for  the  beautiful  in  nature, 
he  had  a  deep  relish  for  all  that  was  spiritual  and 
heavenly. 

He  loved  his  country  and  in  the  hour  of  her  peril 
prayed  for  her  peace  and  preservation.  Living  under 
a  southern  sky  and  amid  the  tradition  of  a  slave-hold- 
ing population,  he  stood  by  the  side  of  the  lamented 
Du  Pont  and  together  they  prayed  and  watched  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Union.  Bishop  Lee  was  a  good  neigh- 
bor, a  useful  citizen,  a  constant  friend,  a  true  patriot, 
and  sought  in  every  way  to  advance  the  welfare  of  his 
country.  His  sympathies  were  identified  with  every 
good  cause.  He  was  an  advocate  of  the  Church  Tem- 
perance Society ;  an  officer  of  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety. As  one  of  the  Board  of  Revisers  of  the  new 
version,  his  critical  scholarship  was  conspicuous.  He 
loved  the  Sunday-school  and  labored  to  make  it  an 
efficient  adjunct  to  the  Church.     He  was  deeply  inter- 


1 " 


232 


COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICE. 


ested  in  the  entire  field  of  missionary  effort  of  the 
Church  at  home  and  abroad, — and  the  Church  in  Mexico 
owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  his  nursing  care.  How  we 
shall  miss  him  in  the  support  he  gave  these  great  en- 
terprises of  faith,  and  most  of  all  in  that  sweet  example 
of  a  Christian  Bishop  ! 

"Pure,  as  the  naked  heavens,  majestic,  free, 
So  didst  thou  travel  on  life's  common  way, 
In  cheerful  godliness ;  and  yet  thy  heart, 
The  lowliest  duties  on  herself  did  lay." 

While  we  sorrow,  that  we  shall  see  his  face  no  more 
on  earth,  we  rejoice  that  he  was  so  long  spared  to  adorn 
his  office,  and  bless  his  country  and  age.  Never  ro- 
bust, he  was  a  living  witness  that  a  life  of  purity, 
sobriety,  and  self-control  is  a  sure  pledge  of  pro- 
longed activity.  "Length  of  days  was  in  his  right 
hand  and  in  his  left  hand  riches  and  honor."  He 
sank  to  his  grave  in  the  full  glory  and  beauty  of 
a  well  rounded  character,  matured  for  Heaven.  He  * 
was  not  embarrassed  by  the  chronic  infirmities  of  weary 
age.  His  faculties  were  not  clouded  by  the  haze  ol 
years.  His  vision  was  not  dimmed  and  his  natural  force 
not  abated.  He  was  not  shocked  or  startled  by  the  last 
summons.  **  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets 
his  fate  is  privileged  beyond  the  common  walk  of  vir- 
tuous life,  quite  on  the  verge  of  heaven."  Comforted 
by  the  assiduous  devotions  of  his  children,  he  sank  to 
his  rest  testifying  **the  Lord  thinketh  upon  me." 
Among  the  last  passages  of  the  word  of  life  read  to 
him  was  the  23d  Psalm, 


REV.  JUUUS  E.  GRAMMER,   D.D. 


233 


We  have  buried  him  in  yonder  cemetery,  but  his 
spirit  liveth  ever  more.     His  example  will  long  survive. 

"  Were  a  star  quenched  on  high, 
For  ages  would  its  light, 
Still  travelling  downward  from  the  sky, 
Shine  on  our  mortal  sight. 

*'So  when  a  good  man  dies, 
For  years,  beyond  our  ken. 
The  light  he  leaves  behind  him  lies 
Upon  the  path  of  men." 

He  lived  to  witness  the  reconstruction  of  the  gov- 
ernment ;  to  see  the  sacred  arch  of  Constitutional 
Liberty  restored  to  its  solid  symmetry.  He  lived  to 
see  the  Church  extending  over  all  the  vast  domain 
of  our  country,  as  far  as  the  Pacific,  and  giving  sup- 
port to  Mexico  and  Hayti.  He  lived  to  see  the  work 
of  the  Lord  prosper  in  this  and  other  lands,  and  the 
cause  of  Christ  survive  the  most  insidious  and  men- 
acing forms  of  unbelief.  Like  the  aged  Joshua,  he 
could  say,  **I  am  going  the  way  of  all  the  earth,  and 
ye  know  in  all  your  hearts  and  in  all  your  souls  that 
not  one  thing  hath  failed  of  all  the  good  things  which 
the  Lord  your  God  spake  concerning  you  ;  all  are 
come  to  pass  unto  you,  and  not  one  thing  hath  failed 
thereof" 

We  are  here  to-day  to  study  his  example  and  pledge 
ourselves  anew  to  the  cause  he  loved  and  served.  He 
has  gone  to  realize  whaUr  the  Bishop  who  preached  his 
consecration  sermon  said:  **0h,  the  flood  of  joy  that 
will  come  over  the  soul  of  the  faithful  minister  of 


\   m 

f 


1 


234 


COMMEMORATIVE  SERVICE. 


Christ,  when,  after  having  found  his  election  sure,  he 
shall  see  the  many  blessed,  glorified  saints  in  the  same 
inheritance,  whom  his  ministr>%  through  grace,  did 
bring  there  ;  and  when,  next  to  the  honor  they  render 
unto  Him  who  washed  them  in  His  blood,  they  shall 
come  about  him  to  call  him  blessed,  and  acknowledge 
the  sweet  fruits  of  his  labors  to  their  souls."  And  as 
we  look  back  upon  his  life,  we  may  rejoice  that  there 
was  such  a  marked  answer  to  the  prayer  offered  at  his 
consecration  in  the  sermon  then  preached  :  **The  Lord 
look  down  from  heaven  upon  his  servant,  now  to  be 
made  a  shepherd  of  His  shepherds  and  His  flocks, 
under  Him,  the  chief  *  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  souls  ;' 
and  grant  him  grace  for  all  his  work,  so  that  in  spite 
of  all  the  opposition  of  the  devil,  the  flesh  and  the 
world,  he  may  both  save  his  own  soul  and  the  souls  of 
them  that  hear  him,  through  the  inworking  Spirit  and 
the  interceding  righteousness  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

But  we  shall  see  him  again,  for  if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  them  also  that  sleep  in  Jesus 
will  God  bring  with  Him.  And  there  will  be  many 
witnesses  there  to  testify,  *'We  were  hungry  and  he 
fed  us ;  we  were  sick  and  in  prison  and  he  ministered 
unto  us."  And  from  the  arches  of  Heaven  will  ring 
the  plaudit, — Crown  him,  crown  him,  the  faithful  pastor, 
teacher.  Bishop,  the  saintly  scholar  and  servant  of  God. 

Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my 
last  end  be  like  that  of  this  venerated  Father  in  God. 
Amen  and  Amen. 


If 


/ 


I 


I,       I 


» 


